Tuesday, April 12

Anniversary

Photo by Vlad Dumitrescu from 1x.com

The widow
suckles his photo,
black bunting
drapes chipped glass.
She sighs a craquelure smile—
"I'm all he has left".

Anne Welch is guest hosting this week’s Monday One Stop Poetry Form at One Stop Poetry. There she is discussing a poetic form know as shadorma, basically, a six-line poem with no fixed rhyme scheme and a 3/5/3/3/7/5. syllable structure. I had never heard of this form before and the poem above is thus my respectful first offering. To read more about the shadorma form and see what other One Stop Poetry participants have done with it, click here.

The image is from photographer Vlad Dumitrescu of Romania, who has a lovely blog.
Posted by Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillow at 9:43 AM
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19 comments:

  1. nouvelles couleurs - vienna atelierApril 12, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    this is strong

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  2. RuthApril 12, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    The shadorma form is new to me, so thanks to you, Anne Welch and One Stop Poetry.

    The photo by Vlad Dumitrescu is evocative and poignant (and his blog is wonderful). It is a loving image, almost cradling her there in that soft earth, and light and shadow.

    Your poem, too, is loving, and it touches me. It focuses on her wrinkled mouth — oh what a perfect adjective: craquelure! It conjures respect for this image, this scene, this woman and her love, as painterly, worthy. And her suckling mouth, the only mouth left to treasure him. Even her shawl envelopes him. The faithfulness of a lifelong partner, the love that is of course, perhaps, all that she has left too. Just beautiful, Lorenzo. You've done so much in this tight form and brief lines.

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  3. stevenApril 12, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    hi lorenzo, thaks for the introduction to a new poetic architecture! thanks also for the link to one stop poetry - a treasure trove. as my own mother ages and the threads between us draw tighter and then also softer, i was easily immersed in the image and the words. masterful. steven

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  4. Brian MillerApril 12, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    nice depth of emotion in a few lines lorenzo. annie did a great job with this as did you...

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  5. ElisabethApril 12, 2011 at 1:38 PM

    It works well, Lorenzo. I like this form. It has such interesting possibilities as your first effort shows. Powerful, especially alongside the photo.

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  6. AnonymousApril 12, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    You've captured the heart of grief... having been a widow, I know.

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  7. ellen abbottApril 12, 2011 at 3:41 PM

    interesting form. nice to see you.

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  8. dsApril 12, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    Simply lovely, Lorenzo. I did not know of this form either, till reading of it at One Stop (with thanks to Anne Welch). Craquelure such a wonderful, evocative word. All the lines speak of grief--its power and need.
    Thank you.

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  9. erinApril 12, 2011 at 5:11 PM

    i'm another fan of the word craquelure. this word! this use! i am filled with tenderness. the tilt of her head. her smile. her acknowledgement. we are all each other has.

    xo
    erin

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  10. MaureenApril 12, 2011 at 6:14 PM

    I also was not familiar with the Shadorma until visiting One Stop yesterday and tried my hand at it, too. It seems to allow for a lot of emotion with so few words.

    You have so beautifully expressed all that image conveys.

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  11. The Solitary WalkerApril 12, 2011 at 10:24 PM

    Shadorma - that's a new one on me too.

    A fabulous, tight poem, Lorenzo. Very, very good indeed.

    All the best, Robert (another keen member of the Craquelure Appreciation Society)

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  12. *April 12, 2011 at 10:41 PM

    Love this poem and picture, as well as the welcome introduction to shadorma, gracias, Lorenzo.

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  13. LolamouseApril 13, 2011 at 12:35 AM

    Hello Lorenzo,
    Thank you for visiting my blog. I love what you've done with your Shadorma and the photo. Add me as another member of the "Craquelure Appreciation Society." Your words capture her devotion even after death. Beautiful.

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  14. Other MaryApril 13, 2011 at 12:58 AM

    Those few words convey volumes.

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  15. Amanda MooreApril 13, 2011 at 1:42 AM

    Wow this is great kind of haunting leaves me wanting to read more.....

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  16. AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 8:47 AM

    really interesting!!!!!!
    i thought it was a form of complicate haiku, but... no.
    oh, i am hooked!!
    gracias!

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  17. signed...bkmApril 15, 2011 at 1:23 AM

    Oh my this is an amazing photo and writing....suckling his photo...the thought of loss this deep ..you express it so well in this words...love it...bkm

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  18. GeorgeApril 15, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    I know nothing about this form of poetry, Lorenzo, but I love the exquisite beauty of what you have done with it. I don't think I shall ever forget the expression "craquelure smile." Magnificent and memorable!

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  19. BainoMay 1, 2011 at 10:51 PM

    I really wish I enjoyed poetry more, it's just a form I find frustrating probably because so many 'think' they can write it but can't. You've captured a lot in yours though. I'm a widow, know how it feels

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