It was at night, while sleeping in that realm where anything goes, anything can happen—unlike day over which King Sun rules, setting Life’s everyday business into motion, ensuring everyone obeys the orbits of his inexorable laws—that you came to me Nonna, in a house of pure luminous forms. You came to me (or was it I who came to you?), after all those days trudging back and forth to a job whose only meaning is survival; praying to you in washroom stalls to help me find the way, or placing another pot of fresh flowers, another plastic cross at your graveside over which sun, moon and seasons turn in their inexorable orbits, I came to you (or was it you who came to me?), and you said: “Me sorry
Thank you for this poem. I love it for what it expresses but also my mother was always called Nana. It was spelled that way but it was pronounced Nonna. I miss her so very much.
You’re very welcome Karon. It was an experience like this that leads me to believe that our loved ones are not that far away but only perhaps a dream away. I miss my Nonna all the time. She was the greatest.
Nicole, thank you again for checking out some of my poems. Really means a lot. My work always seems to capture an ironic, almost contradictory mix of emotions all in one piece. An emotional snapshot of a frozen moment in time. Thank you for noticing/appreciating this.
Bear, thank you for reading my poem. I hope it got across just how much my Nonna meant to me. Her visitation was a soul shattering experience for me, esp given I've never really experienced anything like that before.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I can tell from this beautifully moving poem, while it may not hold all that you're feeling/going through right now, just how much she meant to you and your family. A piece of you has been scooped out of your soul due to your wife's passing; but I'm sure you know that she'll always be around you. Though you can't see her given she's in another dimension, she'll be leaving you signs here and there (if not already) to let you know she's still nearby in Spirit.
May God/Source/Universal Mind bless you and your family with as much peace, love and comfort as possible during this difficult time.
Another beautiful poem. To have had a Nonna that loved you in life and visits you in death is a gift. Many, like myself do not have such ancestors. My sweet dogs are my family and they have given me more in life and death than most of my human blood relatives. There are treasures beyond gold, careers, material gifts and it sounds like you and your Nonna share these true gifts with each other. Bravo Victory Palace! You always bring a tear to my eye for what may have been and what may still be. Happy Jupiter in Cancer! I am an art historian and professional astrologer. 🌞✨✨
Hey Kate, thanks so much for reading the poem and your lovely comments. I'm truly grateful for that incredible gift of her visiting me in my dream. It's ok if you don't have such ancestors - your family is YOUR family and that took the form of your sweet dogs. Sometimes I say "blood is sicker than water" (a play on the old saying about relatives) b/c in a lot of cases, our relatives make us feel more of an outsider than strangers sometimes would, then I wonder why in the hell did I come to this planet with the parents that I chose?! (story for another day...) Anyway, so happy this poem was able to affect you in a meaningful way. Love those Jupiter in Cancer vibes, yes? Art historian? You don't say. What's your favorite time period/style?
The 1890s! London, Paris, Vienna. The Decadence, the later Pre-Raphaelites, The Symbolists. So much richly symbolic, mystical and evocative art. There’s a great corner of the Tate Britain and the V&A that are def worth a visit.
Appreciate the Dadaists and Surrealists too…after the world burns let’s throw out the rules, rediscover humour and swirl in some esoteric practices for good measure.
Art, freedom, beauty…all the good things! Thanks for your kind reply Victory Palace. 🌻✨✨
Great taste Kate! Wish today's art could be reflective of those times, but then again, those were different times. Perhaps there could be a renaissance of art that could be like a neo-throwback to the styles of those eras but depicting today's topics? IDK...Anyway, yes, to Art, Freedom, Beauty and let's throw in Truth and Goodness while we're at it. Best to you Kate.
Another beautiful poem. To have had a Nonna that loved you in life and visits you in death is a gift. Many, like myself do not have such ancestors. My sweet dogs are my family and they have given me more in life and death than most of my blood relatives. There are treasures beyond gold, careers, material gifts and it sounds like you and your Nonna share these true gifts with each other. Bravo Victory Palace! You always bring a tear to my eye for what may have been and what may still be. Happy Jupiter in Cancer! I am an art historian and professional astrologer. 🌞✨✨
Bravo ... molto bene! Whether you know it or not, this one's for all the Nonna's.
Thanks so much RPP. I love that thought!
I don't think you 'telegraph' in any of your writing. So it is what it is, as one reads it for the 'reveal' to be discovered in the moment.
“Me sorry figlio mio. Me no have gifts for you.”
led me to think:
"That’s ok, Nonna. You were my gift.”
just before you wrote it. Not because the "voice leading" of your ballad would necessarily take someone there as a foregone conclusion, but because -
"Adesso capisco tutto"
You really DO understand EVERYTHING, my friend.
This is mature and touching writing. The very thing that poetry is supposed to be.
PJ great to see you and thanks for the lovely comments 🙏🙏🙏
You understand as well, my friend…
Grateful for your support and friendship.
Thank you for this poem. I love it for what it expresses but also my mother was always called Nana. It was spelled that way but it was pronounced Nonna. I miss her so very much.
xo xo
You’re very welcome Karon. It was an experience like this that leads me to believe that our loved ones are not that far away but only perhaps a dream away. I miss my Nonna all the time. She was the greatest.
You capture grief and grace in such a tender way.
Nicole, thank you again for checking out some of my poems. Really means a lot. My work always seems to capture an ironic, almost contradictory mix of emotions all in one piece. An emotional snapshot of a frozen moment in time. Thank you for noticing/appreciating this.
Thank you for sharing this, my wife passed last week. I have been trying to capture the beauty through the pain. Words alone just can't hold it.
-
Sand Castles on Your Shore
by Bear Sage
(for Elizabeth)
-
We built you in the high summer,
when the light lingered past bedtime,
and laughter spilled
like buckets brimming with ocean.
-
Grain by grain,
you rose in quiet majesty,
walls carved with open hands,
arches shaped to welcome anyone
who wandered from the long stretch of beach.
-
Our children ran in and out of your gates,
barefoot and certain
that your towers could never fall.
-
Other children came too,
the ones we never birthed
but claimed all the same
resting in your shade,
pressing their small palms to your cool walls,
feeling the safety you carried.
-
You stood through every tide of our years
mornings when waves kissed your foundation,
nights when stars crowned your tallest spire.
And then, the ocean called.
-
It wasn’t sudden
the tide had been gathering,
pulling farther out,
then returning with more insistence,
until one morning,
we stood ankle-deep in its reach,
watching it carry you home.
-
The children cried,
their voices rising against the wind,
as if they could hold you together
with the sound of their grief.
I wanted to join them,
to scoop the sand back into your form,
but the sea is an older keeper than we are.
-
Now the shore is flat and endless,
but if you walk it barefoot,
you’ll feel you still there
in the cool press of damp earth,
in the shapes the tide leaves behind,
in the memory of a castle
that taught us all what it meant
To belong
Bear, thank you for reading my poem. I hope it got across just how much my Nonna meant to me. Her visitation was a soul shattering experience for me, esp given I've never really experienced anything like that before.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I can tell from this beautifully moving poem, while it may not hold all that you're feeling/going through right now, just how much she meant to you and your family. A piece of you has been scooped out of your soul due to your wife's passing; but I'm sure you know that she'll always be around you. Though you can't see her given she's in another dimension, she'll be leaving you signs here and there (if not already) to let you know she's still nearby in Spirit.
May God/Source/Universal Mind bless you and your family with as much peace, love and comfort as possible during this difficult time.
This is beautiful. ❤️
Thanks so much Trudi. I was deeply affected by this and hoped to do it justice w/ this poem.
When you experience direct contact like this, it is very moving. You do it justice!
Whew, good to know. Thank you!
Beautiful, VP. And "to a job whose only meaning was survival..." this resonates for many I am sure.
Thank you SF, thank you. I hope it does resonate with whoever sees this, whoever lost a loved one and saw them in a "dream".
I feel like I'm not placing enough flowers to those who are gone. Thanks for bringing up deep memories. I appreciate you.
Another beautiful poem. To have had a Nonna that loved you in life and visits you in death is a gift. Many, like myself do not have such ancestors. My sweet dogs are my family and they have given me more in life and death than most of my human blood relatives. There are treasures beyond gold, careers, material gifts and it sounds like you and your Nonna share these true gifts with each other. Bravo Victory Palace! You always bring a tear to my eye for what may have been and what may still be. Happy Jupiter in Cancer! I am an art historian and professional astrologer. 🌞✨✨
Hey Kate, thanks so much for reading the poem and your lovely comments. I'm truly grateful for that incredible gift of her visiting me in my dream. It's ok if you don't have such ancestors - your family is YOUR family and that took the form of your sweet dogs. Sometimes I say "blood is sicker than water" (a play on the old saying about relatives) b/c in a lot of cases, our relatives make us feel more of an outsider than strangers sometimes would, then I wonder why in the hell did I come to this planet with the parents that I chose?! (story for another day...) Anyway, so happy this poem was able to affect you in a meaningful way. Love those Jupiter in Cancer vibes, yes? Art historian? You don't say. What's your favorite time period/style?
The 1890s! London, Paris, Vienna. The Decadence, the later Pre-Raphaelites, The Symbolists. So much richly symbolic, mystical and evocative art. There’s a great corner of the Tate Britain and the V&A that are def worth a visit.
Appreciate the Dadaists and Surrealists too…after the world burns let’s throw out the rules, rediscover humour and swirl in some esoteric practices for good measure.
Art, freedom, beauty…all the good things! Thanks for your kind reply Victory Palace. 🌻✨✨
Great taste Kate! Wish today's art could be reflective of those times, but then again, those were different times. Perhaps there could be a renaissance of art that could be like a neo-throwback to the styles of those eras but depicting today's topics? IDK...Anyway, yes, to Art, Freedom, Beauty and let's throw in Truth and Goodness while we're at it. Best to you Kate.
Another beautiful poem. To have had a Nonna that loved you in life and visits you in death is a gift. Many, like myself do not have such ancestors. My sweet dogs are my family and they have given me more in life and death than most of my blood relatives. There are treasures beyond gold, careers, material gifts and it sounds like you and your Nonna share these true gifts with each other. Bravo Victory Palace! You always bring a tear to my eye for what may have been and what may still be. Happy Jupiter in Cancer! I am an art historian and professional astrologer. 🌞✨✨
Hi, Vic Pal!
Hope you are well.
This is just so beautiful and poignant and ... magical, in the best way. xo xo
I’m doing well WH. Hope you’re in good spirits as well.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment. My Nonna meant the world to me as I hope this poem shows.
Thank you so much 🙏🥰
omgeeee so pro-foundly beauty full .... oneness expressed and delivered in the infinite eternalality of love
That’s what I was trying to express in this poem Christine. Thanks so much for the lovely comments 🙏🙏🙏