white crane
white crane
(for Linda)
It was after that I saw the bird
white wings flying in the updraft of the sky, clouds spinning
it seemed a thousand crows were in the sky that day
yesterday, your father’s tears mourners
your son standing alone high on the hill, heldback tears the strength
~
all I could do was put my hand on the back of a heart that heaved
the slow shuddering sobs
& in that wracking I remembered your ginger curls
& I thought you’d be laughing at what was spoken
somebody said you collected angels
~
how I knew you was in the broad expanse of your trustworthy hands
gum snapping surety, the browndoe strength of your eyes
you’d say to me, what does that word mean?
& then I’d try and explain by using a thousand metaphors
& you nodded patiently
the beauty you built in my abyss
each measured tile
I want you to know that I tried
looking into the wind, looking into the oaks
but I knew your soul was already gone, swept skyward
~
there is a way a white crane moves upon this earth
steps gingerly with tender footfall
there is a way between women sizing situations
& you never said a thing but you
stepped inside
~
I walked away down the mountain
thought of the wind lifting your hair
thought of the tiny buddha you’d given me once
thought of how much you knew of grace
not knowing words
but knowing interiors
~
I want you to know how much he cried at the loss of you
how, of anyone maybe he loved you best
how I knew as it welled up under my silent hand
how I couldn’t understand why the cell phones went ringing
there should have been silence
~
last time I saw you sturdy standing mixing plaster
wavering a little
I said take these oranges
& your doe eyes smiled
& then we said the kind of things women say to each other
like gossip over a fence
& then we hugged
& it was as if no time had passed at all
~
I didn’t know in two weeks you’d be gone like that
& your father
& your brothers
& the man next to me
& your son standing high on the hill of seventeen
~
I walked down the mountain and looked at the sea
& the clouds rushed over it was that kind of day
& there was this crane flying high
I knew that was you saying goodbye
*
About this poem
an elegy, for a friend, upon her death - in my old blog, under my nom de plume Valentine Bonnaire but actually copyright is by me, Adrienne Wilson https://valentinebonnaire.com/2012/02/12/white-crane-poem/
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Written on February 12, 2012
Submitted by adriennedwilsonwriter on March 26, 2022
Modified on March 24, 2023
- 2:27 min read
- 14 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | A B C D X X X X E X X X F X G X X X X A X H X I E X J X X D I X X B J K X X X K X X H X K D G F G C L L |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,218 |
Words | 491 |
Stanzas | 52 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
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"white crane" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/123219/white-crane>.
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