Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Passer-by

passer-by
can you tell
when you look at me
can you tell

does it loom large around me
or show here on my face
or here in my eyes

can you see
all that I have come to carry
in boxes with lids
and bags with long straps

can you hear my silent scream
that catches on the wind
then fades to a dull ache

can you place a finger in the crack of my heart
and tracing its length feel an absence

and if I asked you
would you penetrate this darkness with me
sit in the confusion I feel
and wait




then maybe
help me collect up the shells of my life
and put them in jars made of glass

3 comments:

  1. This is beautiful...can't put into words why, it just is. Something to do with the words, feelings, thoughts, metre and rhythm all coming together. It breaks my heart and makes my soul sing all at the same time...

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  2. Thank you Tess for your beautiful poems. We read this one together at our lent group at Brunswick church last week. We are thinking about the seven last words of Jesus and this poem was a gift to us.
    Sheenagh

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  3. Thanks once more- we shared this poem in our Good Friday service.

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