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Sunday 16 June 2013

A Beauty Rare and Commonplace


Polio at age thirteen
had closed the shutters on her teenage world:
on dancing, high heels, sport and boys --
the latter through her mum's great fear:
impossible to run away.
(One leg a lowly fraction of its former self:
two babies would reduce it further later on.)

Concluded too, her great desire to nurse. And then
the local schools would not accept her.
(Too dangerous, negotiating stairs!) And yet
I've never heard complaint, not once,
of how life spins its roulette wheel.
(I doubt that such a thing as randomness exists,
not absolutely. Random numbers are
a fiction. Random chance? No chance at all!
)
I'm looking at her now;
she in the garden, me upstairs,
she on her kneeler on the lawn,
around her spread her plants and pots,
her compost and her tools.
There's beauty both in her and how she works;
does what she does the way she can,
shows not a sign of all her struggling.
Makes light of all that's burdensome for her.

Sound of a stick upon the floor, a sound
from somebody that toils from chair to chair

wrote Yeats. He might have written it of her,
the words a perfect fit. It's commonplace.
It is. She makes it so, and makes it so
afresh from day to day. And yet
there's nothing stirs my heart as much --
nor ever will.


Simply to avoid misunderstandings: Reader, I married her.

Hobgoblin at dVerse ~ Poets Pub suggested that we wrote about beauty in the everyday.

24 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

Dave this is a wonderful tribute to your wife. I hope she reads it. Polio was the scourge of our generation wasn't it. This is absolutely brilliant.

In my teaching days the scourge was thalidomide and I taught a girl who was severely handicapped by it. She rose above it at school and I have often wondered what happened to her.

Well done - a very moving poem.

kaykuala said...

Such a touching tribute of endearment to the one person that steals your heart. Perfectly tuned, Dave!

Hank

Anonymous said...

Awwww I literally have goosebumps I think I might start crying like the romantic idiot I am. This is so beautiful, one of the most touching pieces I have ever read Dave wow!!!

The new prompt is up btw =)

Brian Miller said...

big smile....she has her challenges but that does not overcome who she is...it only makes it all the more...beautiful for sure my friend...i hope you shared this with her as well...smiles...

Claudia said...

oh wow david...this really touched my heart.. love how all the difficulties made her the person she is in such a positive way...your love shines through each line

Laurie Kolp said...

This is beautiful, Dave. Your wife has been through a lot, but it hasn't stopped her. What an admirable woman!

Scarlet said...

This brought tears to my eyes, how beautifully written Dave ~ a gem to read this morning ~

Tabor said...

What a beautiful love poem. It is how one accepts those challenges with dignity and resolve that make us shine like a star. You are as lucky as she is in your little star filled heaven.

A Cuban In London said...

I knew it from the first line! :-) What a great, beautiful elegy to your wife. Many thanks. I really enjoyed this.

Greetings from London.

L. Edgar Otto said...

Daddy's Girl

Not just what we are given, autumn leaves walking on the concrete at the random burst of wind

But how we react to it our grace and wisdom, our bonds that lives and gives life

The world awake in poetry responds
somewhere, as if a higher moment we stop to find real yet free to dream

It a gentle rain and certain spring
She thought to herself in that whispering shared dream reaching you where we cannot know the instants when nor echos as if some wild creature crosses our path to check out in our pensive paths

Saying in the fullness of the world we then love her too and there she
knew it in romantic brew whispered within herself... Daddy and this Daddy's girl... Dave, you really are a poet...
* * *

L. Edgar Otto on his poem "A Beauty Rare and Commonplace... in poetry too is faith enough beyond ourselves to labor to found a family

Anonymous said...

so touching, David. a beautiful tribute...

~Miriam

brudberg said...

One of the most touching love poems I ever read.. so amazing that polio is gone..once a dreaded disease, and yet a life of beauty..

Anonymous said...

so beautiful! this really touched my heart. your wife is a very lucky lady.

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

It is a breautiful hymn. For some reason I understood since the very first lines what you would point out at the end.

Unknown said...

beautiful write Dave. really symbolic of the beauty that exists. Great read. thanks

Outlawyer said...

Just beautiful. Sounds like others would find her exceedingly beautiful as well, at least I did reading it. A lovely story and poem and tribute. Polio such a terrible disease - transcendence is wonderful here --palpable. k.

This is Karin Gustafson a/k/a Manicddaily at wordpress. I think mobile device will make me use blogger blog.

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

Wow! that's excellent!
Madeleine Begun Kane

Truedessa said...

Dave,

This is a beautiful write an "ode to your wife"..I hope you share this with her as I am positive it would bring great light.

Unknown said...

Such a heart warming and selfless love you share. Thank you writing such a personal piece and such a beautiful tribute to your lady fair.

Dave King said...

The Weaver of Grass
Thank you so much for your comments. Yes, indeed, Doreen has seen it. And yes Polio was a great scourge. I was working for my diploma at the time of the thalidomide disaster and spent some time at Chailey Heritage, which was a hospital school catering for young victims. There were some absolutely awful cases there. It made a big impression.

Hank
Very grateful for this. Thank you.

mindlovemisery
Really a little overwhelmed by the generosity of your comment. Thank you.

Brian
Thank you. You understand so well.

Claudia
This is such a beautiful comment. Thank you for it.

Laurie
She is indeed. It was absolutely the first thing that struck when me when I met her. Thank you for saying.

Heaven
Thank you for saying this. It means such a lot.

Tabor
Yes, you are absolutely right on all points. Whatever I don't have is nothing compared with what I do. Thank you.

A Cuban in London
Thank you for saying so. The poem just took shape from thinking about the beauty/beauties that were part of my everyday.

L Edgar Otto
Fantastic comment. Thank you so much for visiting and leaving us your thoughts. Some really great lines.

anotherwandering soul
Thank you. Good to know you thought so.

Björn
Thank you for such a great compliment - and yes, I agree: amazing!

Kamana
Hi, a warm welcome to you. Thank you for saying so, but I think I'm the lucky one...

Tommaso
Thank you friend. As always, good to hear your thoughts.

Fred
Thanks. A great remark to receive.

Outlawyer
Thank you for your very kind words. They are greatly appreciated.

Madeleine
Thank you so much for saying so.

Truedessa
A very warm welcome to you. Thank you for visiting my blog. Your thoughts are most valued.

Rambly
Hi My thaks to you for visiting, and for taking the time to comment. I am very appreciative of your kind words.



jabblog said...

A love poem, in every sense.Your wife is as lucky a woman as her husband is a lucky man.
I was at school with two girls who had had polio, one on crutches, the other in leg braces. The only allowance made was for Susan on crutches - she had a tall desk.

sunny said...

Hi Mr Dve,its being a long time for my absence in the blog,really busy in my studies,now I find some space.I really like your post..thanks

ninotaziz said...

Dear Dave,

We are often at lost how our other half thinks of us. And your absolutely moving poem gives great comfort.

Beauty in everyday life is most elusive and often overlooked. Your insight, and sight, is so heartening.

Bless you.

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