.
When This Is Over
.
At the end of the day, the pears will be ripe
and the ones I loved and died will float before me
in waves of growing beauty.
At the end, when all of this leaves, then I will breathe
an owl breath, still in my tranquil sky.
At the end, I will find you, thank you for this sick chaos –
myself, a garden, hit by a massive storm.
I will give life again to the little birds, insects that have no
use or concept of glory. I will return with you
to the Buddha waters, happy to know so much love.
I will walk out my door and there will be summer,
early summer, and you and I
(though bruised and that much more
world-weary) will walk into the warmth:
ultimately loved, unequivocally whole.
.
.
Copyright © 2010 by Allison Grayhurst
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
.
First published in “Bigger Stones”, 2013
http://biggerstones.weebly.com/magazine.html
http://biggerstones.weebly.com/magazine/when-this-is-over-by-allison-grayhurst
.
You can listen to the poem by clicking below:
.
“Allison Grayhurst intertwines a potent spirituality throughout her work so that each poem is not simply a statement or observation, but a revelation that demands the reader’s personal involvement. Grayhurst’s poetic genius is profound and evident. Her voice is uniquely authentic, undeniable in its dignified vulnerability as it is in its significance,” Kyp Harness, singer/songwriter, author.
“Allison Grayhurst’s poems are like cathedrals witnessing and articulating in unflinching graphic detail the gritty angst and grief of life, while taking it to rare clarity, calm and comfort. Grayhurst’s work is haunting, majestic and cleansing, often leaving one breathless in the wake of its intelligence, hope, faith and love amidst the muck of life. Many of Allison Grayhurst’s poems are simply masterpieces. Grayhurst’s poetry is a lighthouse of intelligent honour… indeed, intelligence rips through her work like white water,” Taylor Jane Green, Registered Spiritual Psychotherapist and author.
.
.
A classic. BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES. Thank you.
This is so very lovely Allison, the comparison to birds, the pear, the garden, and the ending – like a sweep through nature. 🙂
This is incredibly beautiful, Allison. It does not need a long scan to understand it, so I will refrain from doing that and will come back tomorrow if I can and try to do a proper comment, but I could not leave this evening without letting you know how wonderful this poem is.
The start of the poem, with its formal phrasing, leaves me breathless:
At the end of the day, the pears will be ripe
and the ones I loved and died will float before me
in waves of growing beauty.
The formal solemnity of this gives it an unearthly beauty that I’m sure you meant, brewing contemplation and making us remember back on all those we have loved who have died.
Then you talk about yourself,
At the end, when all of this leaves, then I will breathe
an owl breath, still in my tranquil sky.
“I will breathe an owl breath…” wow! What an idea.
Then the poem gets more complex, stating your intent to find someone who left you in chaos, a garden hit by storm. The whorl of these two lines leads to:
I will give life again to the little birds, insects that have no
use or concept of glory. I will return with you
to the Buddha waters, happy to know so much love.
and an expression of love that wraps all of us up in Buddha waters…and the beauty of your thoughts. Then you say that you…
will walk out my door and there will be summer,
and you and your love will
…will walk into the warmth:
ultimately loved, unequivocally whole.
Beautiful poetry! Even though it still has that complex whorl in it that gives us pause and thought.