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Drop

by Clara Mae Gregory

The sounds of pinecones drop,
lost to songbird twitter.

The Garden's fragrances
bloom among fresh lit charcoal.

The smell of the grill
is lost to the feel
of youthful laughter
and Marco Polo splashes
misting memories in the face.

She lays them all down to sleep
as the night befalls upon
soft beds of dead silence.

Camped under a canopy of stars,
She hears the pinecones drop
and scans the sky for meteors.

Calmly, she closes her eyes,
and waits for one more sunrise.

But deaf is the Dawn
to the rooster's loud crow.

And the sound of a pinecone dropping
is lost to the songbird's twitter.

06/28/2009

Author's Note: *My mom isn't doing so well physically and it contributes to my falling into down moods, therefore the melancholic poems. It'll pass. *I hope it will pass anyway.For the more curious, here's a little more background that may help you to understand this poem more clearly.I am hanging on because of my mom. I don't know if I'll be able to keep hanging when she passes on before I am ready(and I don't think I will ever be ready). Mom grew up in Long Lake New York up in the Adirondack Mountains in a small bungalow house on Walker Rd. Long Lake is a resort village with lots of history associated with it. I grew up visiting every year and just love the place. Sigourney Weaver(from the movie Alien) did too apparently, and bought a place down at the end of my grandmother's road and Walker Rd. got renamed Kickerville Rd. Anyway, mom was an outdoors natural kind of girl, very athletic and very pretty. She started smoking in her mid 20's and now has a very bad habit, complete with copd. This same habit took my father about 5 years ago...he died a slow horrible death relating to stroke and emphysema. Mom was still bowling, though, until very recently when she started to have problems with her hip. She is 73 and appears to be declining fast and it has been working on me mentally. She was diagnosed with bladder cancer about 7 years ago which I hope is remaining in remission. She has a scary cough. Well, anyway, the poem 'Drop' is really about my mom and me seeing through my mom's eyes. It is about me too and becoming her. We grew up a camping, hiking, boating, skiing enjoying nature kind of family. I feel like it is in my blood. That is why the setting is not in some damn hospital room. Here is a link with info on Long Lake if you're curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Lake,_New_York

Posted on 06/28/2009
Copyright © 2024 Clara Mae Gregory

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by A. Paige White on 06/28/09 at 09:04 PM

I feel for you sweetheart. I went through something similar with my dad. I was rendered numb by the speed that melanoma took him. So surreal it made me numb. You're in my prayers.

Posted by Sigurdur Haraldsson on 06/29/09 at 01:49 AM

Sorry about your mom. I hope she's better - I'll pray for her. The poem is good!

Posted by Christel Crews on 06/29/09 at 02:35 AM

you have expressed yourself so clearly and yet left the reader wondering... wondering how you are in this moment, then the next. you are in my prayers even now. please let me know how your week goes

Posted by Glenn Currier on 06/29/09 at 10:18 PM

I read your author's note first, but if I hadn't I don't think I would have gotten strong melancholy. I hear more of a sense of peace and connection with nature, altertness to its sounds and even more... a yearning for union with the stars - not a bad end to a life well lived. Thanks for this beautiful poem Clara. Blessings to you and your mom.

Posted by D. James McKee on 06/30/09 at 08:06 AM

Lovely

Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 06/30/09 at 11:52 AM

this poem is imbued with all the fine qualities that make it worthwhile to read. Clara, I pray your mother gets well and I pray you hang in there as well.

Posted by Wayne Tate on 06/30/09 at 05:24 PM

This is a wonderul piece Clara. The journey it takes is intrinsically connected to light,life, and pure love. The world in which your work resides always fills me with wonder. I sincerely thank you for sharing that Clara. Best wishes to you and your family. I will keep you and your mother in my prayers. Ich wünsche Dir alles erdenklich Gute!

Posted by James Zealy on 07/01/09 at 10:27 AM

your an outdoor girl. In the daylight or tne moonlight, when you lay on the forest floor, and smell the scent of pine abd honeysuckle your mom is there, now and forever. When in a canoe or boat amid a beacon blue sky she is there now and always. She is your mother nature and your teacher. As long as you live, so does your mom in you. Peace and love, as you are loved and treasured.

Posted by Scott Utley on 07/02/09 at 12:03 AM

This is a beautiful piece of artistry. It reminds me of my mom, who used to say, "where there's life, there's hope".

Posted by Dave Fitzgerald on 07/02/09 at 06:18 PM

Have to agree. Thoughts of my Mam

Posted by Tony Whitaker on 07/03/09 at 03:19 AM

It appears our lives have many parallels as my father has left this world as a result of smoking and my mother is 72 and almost crippled with arthritis. We all grew up in the country and so your words made me think back to my youth and to the life of my mother, from the mountains of Virginia. Thank you so much for this.

Posted by Maude Curtis on 07/07/09 at 12:30 PM

After losing both my parents I've begun to cling to the happy times that we had together. It helps to heal the hurt. You're in my prayers.

Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 08/29/09 at 01:39 PM

A poem to be hugged, an author to be admired: you.

Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 12/26/09 at 10:32 AM

Congrats on your potd!

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 12/26/09 at 04:15 PM

Congrats on POTD! This has fascinating layers to it, a sadness, a nostalgia. Thank you.

Posted by Laurie Blum on 12/26/09 at 09:50 PM

I logged in today to find this gem awaiting me as POTD! Congrats Clara Mae...this is a beautiful heartfelt poem full of lyrical imagery. Very touching.

Posted by Alex Smyth on 12/27/09 at 03:21 AM

Thanks for the footnote, it really gives a reality to the poetry. Each piece touching in it's own way. Congratulations on POTD!

Posted by Traci Mabats on 12/27/09 at 03:39 AM

Congrats on POTD Clara, good job!

Posted by George Hoerner on 12/27/09 at 03:58 AM

Congratulations on POTD today for your poem Drop. I love the lines "But deaf is Dawn/to the rooster's loud crow".

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