Sun Kissed Days

Sun Kissed Days

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Eight Weeks




The mullets are jumping in the bay,
up in the air,
on an invisible trampoline.
He smokes inhaling the cigarette,
like a lifeline,
as if it's her
still here beside him.
The ringlets of smoke,
find their way into the clouds.
The reel squeals but
he holds back.
Sunny skies,
but we are gray.
We dance around the conversation,
her absence felt.
Weeks ago she collapsed
like a wounded bird in his arms.
The lobster claws remained untouched
in the ice box.
The football games became
a background noise of a devastating Sunday.
The mullets were in the bait motel,
and he released them,
for her,
for her spirit,
a gesture of love.
Her spirit remains,
in this home at the edge of the ocean,
where ashes are in a green pouch
waiting to be scattered into a Turquoise ocean.
Framed photographs,
snapshots of happier days,
a life well lived.
Silent thoughts,
a longing heart.


Meet us here, http://dversepoets.com/ where we share our thoughts and our hearts.

80 comments:

  1. She will always remain, as such wonderful memories were made, that will surely never fade.

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  2. loss is hard...and she will always be there you know...in those simple moments...but in a beautiful way as well as you remember her....

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    1. Thank you, Brian. She will live on in our hearts.

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  3. I like the contrasts a lot here, Ayala. I like the feelings coming up against the almost mundane things. So telling: “Weeks ago she collapsed / like a wounded bird in his arms. / The lobster claws remained untouched / in the ice box.” Very nice.
    (By the way, is the picture of the sailboats yours—I mean in terms of being tied in to the feelings of the poem?)

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    1. Thank you. Yes, the photo is mine. It all ties in for me because most of our memories were made on these waters.

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  4. One grieves the demise of a loved one. The person will live in pleasant memories. !


    Hank

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  5. This is ripe with the deep grief of loss, so well conveyed in the specific images of their life together and the event itself. Beautiful and rending.

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  6. Oh Ayala, you capture this sadness so perfectly, but I cry with you on your loss, and as I watch my dog grow older, I don't know how I will handle her passing---

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    1. Thank you, Audrey. This was not about Daisy even though I am still trying to hang in there...this is about my friend Sieg http://asunkissedlife-ayala.blogspot.com/2012/09/goodbye.html. I hope your dog lives a long long life. Hugs.

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  7. Lovely and peaceful. This brings to mind the importance of making memories with the living. Thanks for the reminder.

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  8. Loss of any loved one, be they our human loves or pet loves, is sometimes so difficult to let go of. This is a beautiful tribute to your friend. My only though on losing those I've loved oes from knowing, they may be gone but, their love remains with us, constantly in our hearts.
    You write so gently, so full of love, made me want to cry too.

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    1. Thank you, Bren. They stay in our heart forever.

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  9. Nice memoir and memorial. You're so right--we never know.

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  10. So sad and poignant, I love the way you mixed in all the little, vivid details that bring them both to life on the page. I am sorry for the loss of your friend, this was a beautiful tribute and a touching portrayal of loss.

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    1. Thank you, Kelly. Sunday was hard because her absence was felt so much.

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  11. Oh, this is just so beautiful and heartbreaking.

    Strong poetry that doesn't fall into sentimentality.

    Just....perfect.

    Lady Nyo

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  12. The contrast is what is often hard--the busy-ness of life going on as if nothing has happened, when so much has changed for the person who knows the loss. Beautiful words, ayala.

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  13. The scene, vivid in detail and imagery, sharpened with the minutia of the ordinary is ever-the sadder because of what is not there.

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  14. ... sometimes hard... loved this reference: "Weeks ago she collapsed
    like a wounded bird in his arms."

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  15. Loss is hard; but even through loss oftentimes the spirit lives on and that can give comfort. For a while I think the snapshots will bring forth sad feelings of the one missed....but eventually they will just be another way that memories are triggered, and hopefully they will be more happy than sad.

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    1. Eventually those snapshots will bring peace...

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  16. Enjoyed visualizing the contrasts/comparisons. Very vivid images. The loss resonates through your words.

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  17. Love it. I love the image of the mullets, the smoke and the spirit rising upwards.

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  18. You should read this when you scatter her ashes. It's lovely and poignant Ayala.

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  19. Ayala, we always have our memories and that is something to hold on to. Life is short, or as we say here, la vida is cortar. Beautiful poem.

    Pamela

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  20. this is why we go to the sea for these moments in life, and death....



    Aloha from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral

    ~ > < } } ( ° >

    > < 3 3 3 ( ° >

    ><}}(°>~

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  21. Beautiful and poignant Ayala, daily life is but a backdrop to the feelings that someone is missing, things have changed and yet remain the same. A wonderful poem Ayala.

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  22. You write so beautiful because it comes from beautiful you. Time heals, but sometimes time moves ever so slowly.

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  23. felt pain in this...if the loved one is gone so unexpectedly and only the memories left...so tough...

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  24. Ah. Such a sad poem; written with great tenderness. k.

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  25. Ayala, so sweet and sad, made my heart ache. Love those mullets though and what a great phrase "jumping...on an invisible trampoline" that is exactly what it seems like--or if some crazy jolt of electricity just zapped through the water...Thank you for this :-)

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    1. Thank you are, Sara. Yes..they awesome to watch.

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  26. Sad. So much pain at the loss.I wonder sometimes how we all cope with this. I know we do in our individual ways. Some better than others.

    R

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    1. Yes...people take loss in different ways...

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  27. Immensely poignant and brilliantly expressed.

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  28. how beautiful and touching
    thank you so much for sharing your talent Ayala. you moved me with your words and reminded me how precious it is to make everyday you spend with your loved ones a cherished memory :)

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    1. Thank you, Hope. We take it for granted because that's how it is but we never know...and everyday is a gift.

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  29. You captured the sense of the loss so well. Very well written.

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  30. That was quite a touching piece. Loss is so difficult. Great write.

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  31. Wonderful capturing of a life and what makes up life. Those who pass into and through our moments become part of us that we cannot deny. I love this.

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    1. Thank you, Beth. It is the little moments that create so much....

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  32. I am so sorry you are grey, loss sometimes feels worse with "sunny skies". Hang in there Ayala, it's still so new.

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    1. Thank you, Lauren. I am trying not to be grey....I have you and all those affected by the storm in my thoughts and prayers. xo

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  33. you always write of life and loss so poignantly.

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  34. Ayala, I agree with Leslie. You capture loss, love, life beautifully.

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  35. oh Ayala...how very beautiful. You are a precious soul. I hope you will help me and many others in creating the gratitude quilt this year...I know you are one who feels gratitude deeply...more info re: the quilt at the top of my blog.

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  36. i hope you are having a wonderful weekend ayala...
    smiles.

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  37. ♥ Beautiful and poignant, as always...

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  38. Really felt this ayala...vivid in description of the loss you're family is experiencing.

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  39. Memories always remain, beautiful piece xox

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