WHEN LOSS IS SUDDEN…

NOVEMBER REQUIEM

by Lisa Porter-Grenn

‘Mid Fall’s unfruitful clutches,

Looms an anecdotal breeze;

The frozen, slattern sky above

Has brought us to our knees.

 Beneath the siege of rage and tears,

Breathe strains of ’63:

A man, a car, his wife, three shots…

(Where were those gods that be?)

Out from that day that conquered me,

      A child of six, or so;

I garner praise for hands of grace

      That stayed my childlike soul.

It was a school-day, some recall:

A Friday, if you will;

A place named ‘Dallas’ fell apart…

Under its weight, grew ill.

We sensed life’s wrath, the scent of death;

Bereavement rocks us still;

Hence, let all memory worn by years

Beseech us NOT to kill.

Adults who’d never shed one tear

Donned weary masks of pity,

The master of our fate cried out,

(A death knell… claimed our cities).

 L.P.-Grenn  copyright 2013

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMFWFhTFohk ‎ 

A MOMENT IN TIME … [ our TIME ]

Margaret, child: “you’re grieving”,

Over nature’s gold dis-leaving;

Autumn bows to earth's protection:

Gentle winds of insurrection...

Ah, as our souls grow older,

They do wear their wounds much bolder;

By and by, through gracious sighs,

They seek that place where nothing dies;

And yet (and yet) souls still weep:

We know why…

Hence, no matter what thy name

Sorrowing springs yield all the same;

No sobriquet can quite express

The love left bare once fall’s undressed:

‘Tis the scar our minds were made for

 Yes, (it’s “Margaret” that I mourn for).

Adaptation of G. Manley’s poem by Lisa Porter-Grenn