Writing is the aftermath
the body’s cold and stiff
but strangely approachable
without an argumentative tone
or egotistic smirk
just flesh and heart and nerves finally stilled
mid-flight
Heaven, I suspect, is a place without words
where all is evident
regrets understood and accepted
while one wanders in a flowing robe between
white sacred trees
growing from the starry grass.
Still, we said the words and
drank a glass of wine
with him smiling there
My daughter said
they sew the mouth shut
And I can’t imagine he did not protest.
But in the end, it's all we are -
collection of flesh and heart and nerves
laid in a particular pattern
and the perfume we have left behind.
in the hearts and flesh and nerves of others
The scent that stays in the stairwell
after one has exited.
Jo Nelsen is a writer/singer/songwriter, aka The Talking Soprano. Co-author of a screenplay, "The Ring," novelized by Bantam, writer for The Hollywood Reporter, Armenian Reporter etc., she taught creative writing at Pasadena City College. Her 2010 one-woman show: "Tribute to Motherhood" was featured at the Lyric Theater in Hollywood.
www.youtube.com/reviewsbywomen
the body’s cold and stiff
but strangely approachable
without an argumentative tone
or egotistic smirk
just flesh and heart and nerves finally stilled
mid-flight
Heaven, I suspect, is a place without words
where all is evident
regrets understood and accepted
while one wanders in a flowing robe between
white sacred trees
growing from the starry grass.
Still, we said the words and
drank a glass of wine
with him smiling there
My daughter said
they sew the mouth shut
And I can’t imagine he did not protest.
But in the end, it's all we are -
collection of flesh and heart and nerves
laid in a particular pattern
and the perfume we have left behind.
in the hearts and flesh and nerves of others
The scent that stays in the stairwell
after one has exited.
Jo Nelsen is a writer/singer/songwriter, aka The Talking Soprano. Co-author of a screenplay, "The Ring," novelized by Bantam, writer for The Hollywood Reporter, Armenian Reporter etc., she taught creative writing at Pasadena City College. Her 2010 one-woman show: "Tribute to Motherhood" was featured at the Lyric Theater in Hollywood.
www.youtube.com/reviewsbywomen
RSS Feed