To Some Much Loved Book, Or Another
To some much loved book, or another
Unable to be parted,
I took you to my bath
where your pages waved
like the sea–
fine with me, better even–
for I floated then in your open hull
through the primeval family hall
to the shore of my own little bed, where,
my personal moon,
you reflected the light overhead,
my eyes following
the fallen stars you banked–
words, like the room itself,
dark yet lit within.
What sacrifices you made–
sitting up with me, all hours,
shepherding me, when sleep came
and went, from chest-choke dreams to
safely-ventilated boxes
of sweeter sheep,
adventuring tedium, silencing
demand,
even taking the fall, at turns,
from the cliffs
of mattress, letting me
come to the rescue–
No grown-up could be
so consistent–
always on page 2, a boa, more adorable
than a fedora, digested
an elephant,
and always too,
on some later page
in one of those parallel universes upon which
physicists base
their reputations,
Charlotte, the spider,
would die.
You gave me cover
to cry–
a corner where still-ephemeral-
but-soon-to-burgeon breasts
could confess suffering, expand
with the pain of another,
where tears felt like water tapped, at last,
from the trunk of a baobab–where being overrun
by baobabs was not, as some might think,
so bad–
*****************************
Here’s my last draft poem for the month of April 2014–though I think I may have just missed midnight.I am linking this to Grapeling’s prompt on With Real Toads to use some words from a list by St. Exupery (taken from The Little Prince.) I would love to make a St. Exupery-inspired drawing, but I fear I am too late. (Hopefullly some other day.)
Many thanks for With Real Toads, especially Kerry O’Connor, for making this month so meaningful for those of us trying to do the poem a day. Also special thanks to my friend Hedgewitch, blogging at Verse Escape, whose behind-the-scenes camaraderie has been incredibly helpful and to all of you also doing the poem a day (or not) but reading many poems a day–thanks so much–
Explore posts in the same categories: elephants, poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: April 2014 National Poetry Month, Charlotte is loved too poem, children's book lover poem, elephant in bath, manicddaily, Poem to much loved books, Some Much Loved Book Or Another, St. Exupery poem
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ManicDDaily 
May 1, 2014 at 9:54 am
I love this, k. It does what you always do so well–captures the child within the adult, the memories, but also the mindset, that other world whose asteroid of volcanoes to clean and flowers to protect and spiders to mourn we have left so far behind as to barely be able to see it through the fog of quotidian events with which we surround ourselves. I will say it has been an unalloyed pleasure(well, except for the pounding of my head against the keyboard trying to write!) to have been on this April journey with you, and to read your humbling poetry. Thanks for that, and for persisting in writing no matter what. I hope it is something you need to do, and know it is something I need to read.
May 1, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Well, you are very kind. I am having a rather miserable day today, but I have gotten so much pleasure out of writing poems, and reading them–and yours have certainly been a major source of sustenance–the last month as before. Take care, k.
May 1, 2014 at 10:59 am
I love this. When I was a child, this is precisely how I felt about my books. You’ve really nailed the voice.
May 1, 2014 at 11:04 am
I love this, too. Books are my traveling companions this lifetime. They have companioned me well. Beautiful writing!
May 1, 2014 at 2:51 pm
how cool… i wrote about books as well today… nothing better to get lost in a book… and as a child they really meant and also opened the world to me…
May 1, 2014 at 2:52 pm
should read: nothing better than to get lost in a book…
May 1, 2014 at 2:57 pm
You captured a stage in a human being’s life so perfectly. I love The Little Prince, it’s one of my favourite books. Many thanks.
Greetings from London.
May 1, 2014 at 9:34 pm
this is my new favorite. so fitting to the theme of writing. beyond parent, beyond spouse … this is love. steadfast, sure, and receiving–ego-free, an honest emotional outlet.
May 1, 2014 at 10:45 pm
Thanks so much, jane. And thanks for your kind support and inspiration. K.
>
May 1, 2014 at 10:01 pm
books have always played a large role in my life…i have dog eared a many of them…and i need to reread the little prince…i read it in school forever ago….
May 3, 2014 at 2:42 am
you should know that I consciously chose The Little Prince (after Rilke was taken) in part because of elephants – and you – K. Your drawings immediately reminded me of the book when I first encountered them last year, and it’s been in the back of my mind the whole time, so when the opportunity arose – I knew. You write beautifully, thoughtfully, and with humor (even when it’s a dark humor), and you absolutely stuck this – the voice, the sense you’ve conveyed in the title itself. thanks for contributing so much and for, yes, making the month more enjoyable for me. ~ M
May 3, 2014 at 7:13 am
Dear Michael–first, what a wonderful interview–it was so interesting–and truly thoughtful in a way that some are not. And now, thanks so much! Your work and knowing you were going through the same journey has provided me with a huge amount of camaraderie and inspiration also. I was going to mention you specifically in the post in that regard, but then felt it would seem like I was leaving out others– I so admire your ability to bring freshness and gravity, and yet to keep it all to a very sharp and distilled point. (Running on one of my big weaknesses that is getting worse with age.) Thanks so very much. k. (And I am really honored that you thought of my elephants. You know I have some old children’s manuscripts– child novels that I want to go back too and will re-read some Saint-Exupery–when I did mine I was working/wishing for a commercial edge that really didn’t work on a commercial basis and did not allow for much sweetness. Now I have to go back and inject that in–may have to go back to very early drafts, I don’t know.) Thanks. k.
May 5, 2014 at 10:00 am
I will make this short, sweet ~~ brava.