Day follows night,
Seasons in a row like sugar, flour & salt.
I expect, when I close my eyes,
In the place where I close my eyes,
That I will wake up there, too,
At sunrise.
There is a hand that means more to me
Than any other hand;
Eyes which are the eyes
Of the one I love.
Steps, days,
Seasons, and accustomed ways--
All of these can and do run out.
Could I reach, or look,
And you not be there?
It had never come home to me before...
Is my love--
And is this poem--
Plain?
Then they are plain,
When I use them to tell you that you are
Essential to me, and beloved
Like sugar,
Flour,
& salt.
_____
A little somethin' to go with. I don't know the singer's name, but the song is by Gordon Lightfoot.
so simple
ReplyDeleteso essential
Warm Aloha from Hawaii
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >
What a sweet poem, Shay. I saw the title and wondered, WITH is she going to come up with, to match that title?
ReplyDeleteIt's always a pleasant surprise...
Existential...questioning...grasping. There's so much going for this piece in so few lines that I don't know where to begin. Nice one!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I was struck by the blind faith that when you go to sleep, you'll wake up next morning....and the stark sudden awareness that things run out, and the wondering "could I reach, and you not be there?"
ReplyDeleteI cracked up at the confused panda's finding themselves on your blog...hee hee.
smiles...i love the tender side of shay as much as i do the sassy...this was lovely...
ReplyDeleteCan't do any cookin, mama, without sugar flour and salt. Plain is as plain does, and there's nothing wrong with that. Hope you never run out of the essentials.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by the use of those ingredients, first to denote the inevitable passage of time, and later as the essential staples of a committed relationship.. there are so many layers to this piece, I would never call it plain.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine this being any more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou can't build anything much if you don't have a foundation. You write of the essentials in a beautiful way.
ReplyDelete(and thank you so much for your thoughtful comments : )
nice... love how you took something so common and made it special... cool pic too... reminded me of mama's canisters
ReplyDeleteMmmm...lovely, tender write. I have an inkling of this feeling these days...you capture it beautifully :)
ReplyDeleteLovely and sweet as sugar ~
ReplyDeleteNice use of the metaphor to underline a relationship ~
Plain, true words can be the best of all.
ReplyDeleteWonderful simplicity.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love it when subjects like this are approached in such as a unique way as this. Whole thing just worked so well.
Excellent poem.
Lovely words for someone who must cherish you dearly. These words would melt any beloved's heart. The authenticity of your emotions, spoken in a charming direct voice, recognizing in a compassionate way an imaginary scoffer, make this poem filled with a wonderful self-awareness.
ReplyDelete"Steps, days,
ReplyDeleteSeasons, and accustomed ways--
All of these can and do run out."
So true. I enjoyed this very much.
Honest, tender and sweet.
ReplyDelete:)
Oh you can do tender... yes you can.
ReplyDeleteessential ingrediants - where would we be without the basics;
ReplyDeleteV well conceived and delivered with some class :)
I like the simplicity in this, yet the depth of love and fear of losing it runs deep. Beautiful, Shay.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this one about familiarity and love such a basic thing but such a needed thing also
ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot.
Iggyn8us
Spelling out in basic love letters what is essential. Yes, one day, as though a bad wind swept through, you can wake up and the other side of the bed is forever empty and you can never believe it's true. Hope it never happens to you.
ReplyDeleteMay the basics of flour, sugar, and salt remind us of the special love in our lives. Minimal sweetness!
ReplyDeleteSuch a simple but brilliant idea. Sugar, Flour and Salt. Excellent.
ReplyDeletehttp://twoinformalfeet.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-am-godzilla-but-i-wanna-be-james-dean.html
I love the simple truths of this.
ReplyDeleteI love that you use such common items as flour and sugar to talk about such deep topics as love and loss.
ReplyDeleteessential ingredients for sure
ReplyDeleteI love the soft side of you too, Shay. Finding a tender poem like this one is a surprise most delightful.
ReplyDeleteLooove this Lightfoot song.:)
beautiful, melancholy verse
ReplyDeletewow..what a light-filled floating poem. i can feel its wings between the lines.
ReplyDelete