October 2019 Blog: Things We See That Cling to Us.
Sometimes while strolling or traveling, we come
across sights that cling to our memory. We cannot shake them. They become the
inspiration for poems or short stories.
The poems below are dedicated to such indelible,
inspiring scenes.
The
Hunt
While
I was walking by a park it caught my eye--
a
black cat cloaked in instinct,
paws
placed cautiously one in front of the other,
pausing
only to resume stealth stalking.
Not
only I pursue the object of this hunt,
a
man on a park bench spots it, too.
The
moment of intrigue
has
our attention on a leash.
This
cat is showing the jaguar, cougar,
cheetah,
tiger, leopard and lion within.
Though
there will be no loud roar upon its conquest,
perhaps
a satisfied meow.
And
there at last after searching,
I
spot the object of this tracking,
not
a lizard, a bird, or small rodent
but
a chestnut-red squirrel seeking its evening feed.
Though
in a hurry, I am tempted to delay.
Should
I pull out my camera to film the chase,
miss
my urgent appointment?
I
succumb to reason, and do not capture
the
ending.to this intrigue.
Who
won? Who was faster?
Was
the pursuit interrupted
by
a beeping horn, someone shouting,
someone
throwing a stone?
I
will never know.
©
Althea Romeo-Mark 2019
Old Mama on A
Journey
She’s
cool crossing the road,
halts
the traffic with rheumatic-knotted hands
wrapped
round raised mahogany cane.
She,
bent over, an old limb,
face
to face with the ground,
stands
rooted,
bright
eyes focused.
Drivers
clench wheels,
fingers
hover over horns,
feet
dance between
brakes
and accelerators.
She
resumes her balancing act,
each
gout-swollen leg
in
journey over zebra crossing.
Her
face, washboard-ridged
wrinkles
into smile
as
she anchors heels,
solid
as cow’s hooves,
on
the other side of the road.
©
Althea Romeo-Mark 1997
Published
in The Lucid Stone, Summer 1998, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Man on Wettstein Bridge
We walk carefree on
Wettstein Bridge,
an elderly woman and me.
My mind drifts like,
light clouds.
Rare sunrays kiss our
sun-starved frames.
Below the swelling river
Rhine,
brown after three days
rain,
licks its banks, churns
up logs
and bush collected
as it courses through the
land.
We walk carefree until
mid-journey.
A man leaning against the
rail
strips and hurls his
clothing in the air.
Shoes plunge, shirt and
trousers
float down into the
tumbling river.
Is he going to jump,
dive like some men do
when besotted by the sun?
Should we pause,
plead for sanity,
beg him to think it over?
We hurry pass
hearts revolting at the
perceived action,
hearts beating out our
shame,
watch him clinging to the
rail.
We hope someone would hug
him as we dash by.
We dread we may witness a
dead soul leaping.
Lebens Mude!*
Lebens Mude!
The life within us screams.
Ears wait to hear the
splash,
eyes scour the brown
river
for the white body
swirling,
bobbing among the debris.
Looking back like the
stalked,
while we escape, we see a
small crowd gathering.
Ahead of us
another sad sight
suspends our guilt.
A woman knocked down lies
bleeding.
Decidable.
Certain to be sorted out.
© Althea
Romeo-Mark 1999
*Lebens Mude- Suicidal, tired of life.
Passing Through Kerser,
Switzerland
The train rumbles pass
a white, square house
in a wide lush field.
A woman in pink
stares out the window.
at black and white cows.
They sit in the sun
hooves folded under
chewing cuds lazily.
In my head
this scene is now a painting
in Gauguin colors.
© Althea Romeo-Mark 2009
Her last poetry collection, The Nakedness of New, was
published in 2018. She has participated in International Poetry Festivals in Romania,
Kenya and Colombia.
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