{"id":1183,"date":"2013-11-02T13:31:28","date_gmt":"2013-11-02T18:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2013-11-02T13:31:28","modified_gmt":"2013-11-02T18:31:28","slug":"poem-laundered-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/02\/poem-laundered-hearts\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: Laundered Hearts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laundered Hearts<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

On those journeys<\/span>
\nThrough dark<\/span>
\nNight<\/span>
\nWatches<\/span>
\nEnding only<\/span>
\nWith mourning<\/span>
\nBroken<\/span>
\nFinding yourself<\/span>
\nAlone<\/span>
\nWith a ponderous God<\/span>
\nSeparating darks and lights<\/span>
\nThreatened by grays<\/span>
\nHanging on by hairs and threads<\/span>
\nFrayed<\/span>
\nWashed out<\/span>
\nLeft<\/span>
\nOnly<\/span>
\nFacing<\/span>
\nThe new borne<\/span>
\nWith blues and pinks<\/span>
\nOccasional<\/span>
\nFresh attitudes<\/span>
\nSo nigh eve<\/span>
\nA tough pill to swallow<\/span>
\nThat great beyond<\/span>
\nSlipping passed<\/span>
\nThe Adam’s apple<\/span>
\nImpassable to unknow<\/span>
\nSo stern the guardin’<\/span>
\nParently<\/span>
\nA name<\/span>
\nSo hollowed<\/span>
\nThe coming reign<\/span>
\nFor given trespasses<\/span>
\nDaily bred<\/span>
\nOn earth<\/span>
\nAs it is in heavin’<\/span>
\nTemptations so waited<\/span>
\nAs lead<\/span>
\nInto deliverance<\/span>
\nLying in stork contrast<\/span>
\nCrying at the drop<\/span>
\nOf a feather<\/span>
\nSticking together<\/span>
\nAmidst the tears<\/span>
\nIn the veil<\/span>
\nThrobbing us<\/span>
\nOf our temple<\/span>
\nUn-till<\/span>
\nOur hearts beat back<\/span>
\nWhat mourning brings<\/span>
\nIs new dawnings<\/span>
\nFor those following the light<\/span>
\nFor light penetrates the dark<\/span>
\nAnd we fear not vice verse<\/span>
\nBurnishing us for all time<\/span>
\nWith laundered hearts<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems that death and mourning has been on my heart recently.\u00a0 After a long hospice experience with a friend, I received notice that my Dad’s ex-partner’s Mom just died.\u00a0 I knew that he had a long slog of it.\u00a0 My note to him triggered this poem.<\/p>\n

Like most of my poems, this poem explores both the dark and light side of our experiences.\u00a0 Death is an epic theme that frames and molds how we approach life.\u00a0 Mourning is an essential developmental skill to navigate life.\u00a0 There is much to mourn in the world — some distant, some nearby.\u00a0 Eventually, death will close in on us.\u00a0 None escape.<\/p>\n

To bring this poem down to everyday reality, I use the metaphor of laundry.\u00a0 This can represent the routine tasks that we must continue even if we are in deep mourning.\u00a0 Sometimes this can reconnect us to our everyday living. “Laundered” can also imply an illegitimate, sleazy, or illegal process, such as in “laundering money.”\u00a0 Both of these images can converge into being put through the wringer.\u00a0 The real question is what comes out the other side.\u00a0 Hopefully, something stronger and deeper, even cleaner, more pure.<\/p>\n

I have also built into this poem the contrast, “the stork contrast,” between death and new life, newborns: the blues and pinks.\u00a0 Those with more life experience know that such youth possesses certain naive qualities as well as a refreshing aspect to life.\u00a0 Death puts these in sharp contrast.\u00a0 Hopefully, this stark contrast imbues life with all the more preciousness.\u00a0 My deepest trust and faith is that life is larger than death, more powerful than death, and even death can strengthen life.\u00a0 In this poem, this is captured by the allusion to light penetrating dark but dark being unable to dispel light.<\/p>\n

When death rubs up to you, may you be burnished, polished, and come out with a cleaner and brighter heart on the other side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laundered Hearts On those journeys Through dark Night Watches Ending only With mourning Broken Finding yourself Alone With a ponderous God Separating darks and lights Threatened by grays Hanging on by hairs and threads Frayed Washed out Left Only Facing … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[353,385,428,432,462,65,431,388,158,359,86,62,66,509,658,94,601,529,464],"class_list":["post-1183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-attitude","tag-death","tag-experience","tag-faith","tag-fear","tag-god","tag-heart","tag-hope","tag-illegal","tag-life","tag-metaphors","tag-mom","tag-money","tag-mourning","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-reality","tag-time","tag-trust"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: Laundered Hearts | Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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