Sunday, July 26, 2020

Afternoon Shower/Gorgon



I'll hang my head 
just beyond the gazebo's edge
Let the rain fill my hair
with the rumors of heat,
the slick twists of the globe
uncoiled.

I'll remember
the hard counter, the frayed towel,
the soft metal curve of the sink;
squirming at shampoo
and angles and 
relaxing.

I'll let rain pour-- 
freed from the deep spigots,
from limestone-rimmed oubliettes
where seas vanished
or stoned themselves
silent.

My throat grows soft with rainwater,
sore and silted with saltwater.

Hair keeps twisting,
whispering.

I will hold myself rigid
I will not let me fall.

Sharing today with The Sunday Muse and Poets and Storytellers United. This past week we found ourselves fortunately out of range of the latest Texas hurricane but sitting on the edge of the rain bands, flicking between newsfeed and radar image, just emphasized the emergency holding pattern that 2020 is turning out to be. At some point, that attentiveness has to relax. When it does, maybe I'll get a few projects finished. Maybe?

 Hope your week is going safely & well!

 --  Chrissa 

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22 comments:

  1. HelenJuly 26, 2020 at 7:44 AM

    Beautifully composed. Feeder bands, what lies beyond them, are unnerving and keep one on the edge of his/her seat. I survived three hurricanes in 2004 (Florida) and by #3 relaxed enough to appreciate the rain for what it was. Stay safe.

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  2. RommyJuly 26, 2020 at 8:20 AM

    I feel like the exhaustion and determination that are woven into this poem are very common feelings for me during this pandemic. Part of me wants to just let the awful pour over my stunned and numb self, while another part just wants to scream "No!" at the nearest available thundercloud.

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  3. Carrie Van HornJuly 26, 2020 at 8:22 AM

    I can feel the rain, the heat, and the hope in these captivating lines. I absolutely love this Chrissa!!

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  4. Gillena CoxJuly 26, 2020 at 11:33 AM

    Thanks for dropping by my sumie Sunday today Chrissa. And i linked to Sunday muse with your photo added a haiku

    Muchđź’–love

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  5. indybevJuly 26, 2020 at 1:00 PM

    Quarantines and hurricanes! Perhaps the rain will wash the virus away. Isn't that a happy thought. Great poem.

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  6. JamesJuly 26, 2020 at 1:11 PM

    this was just beautiful. rainwater is always magical for me. thank you for the magic in your poem.

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  7. colleenJuly 26, 2020 at 2:03 PM

    So elemental. I felt like I was in your skin...or hair!

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  8. scotthastiepoetJuly 26, 2020 at 3:24 PM

    Very rich writing Chrissa; impressively visceral and lyrical too. My favourite lines:
    "Let the rain fill my hair
    with the rumors of heat..."

    Enjoyed reading this - Thanks

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  9. Vivian ZemsJuly 26, 2020 at 4:43 PM

    There's a quiet strength here in holding yourself up. Powerful!

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  10. Magaly GuerreroJuly 26, 2020 at 5:15 PM

    I want your closing line on a T-shirt! What a wonderful promise.

    I am very glad the storm didn't get you. And I, too, second your thoughts on 2020 and getting something done... eventually.

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  11. ZQJuly 26, 2020 at 5:27 PM

    Wonderful...

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  12. Rosemary Nissen-WadeJuly 26, 2020 at 10:20 PM

    What a stunningly beautiful poem! Even though it is expressing such extreme circumstances and feelings. I love the determination in the ending.

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  13. Kim M. RussellJuly 27, 2020 at 2:48 AM

    This is such a wonderful splash of a poem, Chrissa! You conveyed so much in the rain filling hair ‘with the rumors of heat’, and I love the image of rain ‘freed from the deep spigots, / from limestone-rimmed oubliettes’, and the defiance of the final lines.

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  14. Magical Mystical TeacherJuly 27, 2020 at 6:13 AM

    Many of us (myself included) would do well to adopt your mantra: "I will not let me fall."

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  15. qbitJuly 27, 2020 at 8:19 AM

    "Let the rain fill my hair
    with the rumors of heat," -- fabulous.

    And this: "limestone-rimmed oubliettes
    where seas vanished
    or stoned themselves
    silent."

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  16. FireblossomJuly 27, 2020 at 3:55 PM

    Any poem with "oubliettes" in it is a winner in my book!

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  17. ThotpurgeJuly 28, 2020 at 4:04 AM

    Let the rain fill my hair
    with the rumors of heat - beautifully written!

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  18. Susie ClevengerJuly 28, 2020 at 2:03 PM

    We all hang from a thread these days wondering "what else"? Your poem is so beautifully written, emotive.

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  19. Joel (@Stranded Tree)July 28, 2020 at 7:59 PM

    "let the rain pour..."
    and wash it all away - a cleansing rain.

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  20. kaykualaJuly 30, 2020 at 7:48 AM

    I will hold myself rigid
    I will not let me fall

    Come what may one should always enjoy having the upper hand.Yes Chrissa. Good to be in control.

    Hank

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  21. purplepeninportland.comJuly 30, 2020 at 2:23 PM



    I'll let rain pour--
    freed from the deep spigots,
    from limestone-rimmed oubliettes
    where seas vanished
    or stoned themselves
    silent.

    A gorgeous stanza, with excellent imagery.

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  22. JimJuly 30, 2020 at 7:54 PM

    Chrissa, I like the idea of "rain pour(ing)-- freed from the deep spigots,from limestone-rimmed oubliettes. Everything here was vivid imagination, the most real was my favorite.
    BTW, we had to go to Louisiana Sunday for Mrs. Jim's sister's funeral on Monday so we missed some of the rain, some we had to drive through. I am glad it didn't go inland here this time.
    Stay Safe, the SIL could not as she was in a residential rehab and nursing center because of her severe stroke.
    ..

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