The Vase

                        The Vase

there on the shelf of my best pronouncements

polished purple and pink

a rose so to speak

warm bodies in the house 

can't contain the empty cold

quiet browns inside 

stained with rag doll morals and attar

dusting politely the

water marks

waterfall streaking

water falls like cotton

quietly 

 ...................................................................................

E.

10/13/2019

Author's Note

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

E., my great grandmother had a similar vase in her living room. I remember it was fine China with intricate colorful artwork, and someone had broken it years earlier. I recall the cracks, the faint dried glue ooze, and yet I never looked inside. I think it might've been her mother, Lettie, who died during the 1919 influeza epidemic. This memory is from the 1970s, so the images are blurry now. Still, your poem and the photo took me back to that place and time, much like what you've described here, "where water falls like cotton... quietly." This poem touches the heart and time, and that makes it extraordinary.

[Einstein Noodle]

oh God bless your Great Great Gramma! how precious to hold even faded memories like that R E! our heritage .. always has cracks and brokenness in it ... we wouldn't be human otherwise me thinks .. i am feeling pretty good this touched you so my friend ..thank you so much for taking time ..and for sharing this bit of your history ... wow 1919 influenza epidemic .. going to go a-googlin' on that .. peace brother!
E.

[kentuck14]

A very poetic "Death of a Vase." I have safely tucked away a very old vase my parents received as a wedding present . . . faded red with faded small flowers. It's also tucked away because my wife doesn't like it! Thanks for adding the photo . . . but don't you think it's a bit morbid!?
T

[Einstein Noodle]

morbid?? perhaps ;) .... i suppose it depends on what speaks most loudly and clearly to you :) funny how many have such vases tucked away eh!? mine is from me Granny on me Ma's side of the family ... i'm fortunate to have many keepsakes ...even some from Great Grand Parents ... treasures with hidden things in them ;)
E.

[Lydia Shutter]

Those old vases mean so much....even if they are cracked and glued back together. They belonged to someone important in the family. Someone who now we can only give roses in the cemetery. I have one of those old vases and when times are tough, it brings me solace. Beautifully written, E. Lydi**

[Einstein Noodle]

i feel pretty blessed this brought those memories to you .. and thank you for sharing a bit of your personal story with a vase ... we all have them in one form or another eh!? love your review, Lydia .. really does lift me spirit this morning :)))) thanks!
E.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

This poem has a soft eloquence to it, sepia-toned memories, and a sense of nostalgia. Dusted with age, it glimmers in the light. Well done.

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you for the visit Ms. Van Tassell! :) yes .. the nostalgia..the connections of things with humans ;) they can run deep and meaningful can't they?! thanks again for your time ma'am!

[Patricia Wedel]

dear E... I was raised on delicate moments
where water falls softly as cotton. I can feel
the emotion and know that memories are
like a porcelain vase ... if broken can be recalled.
truly, Pat

[Einstein Noodle]

your a beautiful heart my friend :) so glad you read this one .. and gratified you point out that particular line ... in writing, it is one i meant to be a bit pivotal .. in a soft way ;} glad you enjoyed ma'am ... always a treat to have your reviews
E.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear E... my Mother painted flowers in soft pastels on porcelain china vases and lamps in an art known as china painting and trimmed the pieces in pure gold with a soft brush. Many footsteps I follow in poetry.
As ever, Pat

[Einstein Noodle]

ohhhhh so beautiful!! what an incredible art to practice ... me Ma made bread in just such a way ;)

[Beccy]

A beautifully allegorical poem E, and so very relatable. I have my grandma's collection of shells and minerals and various fossils that she collected over the years. As children, my sister and I went on holiday with her on numerous occasions and went 'fossicking,' as she called it. She even went to New South Wales, (sadly, we didn't get to go that time,) and spent a while with her brother, my uncle Paul, prospecting for opals. The collection holds some wonderful memories and is worth more than gold to me.

Beccy.

[Einstein Noodle]

that is so very cool! how wonderful this poem has brought those memories to the fore! i could not be more blessed by that Beccy! thanks so much for reading and even more for sharing some of your adventures with your GrandMa ... imagine that ..opal hunting in South Wales!!! so fine says i! love on ya!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You capture well the image and indeed the feel of such a vessel with some excellent phrasing and word choice in this piece. But also the history that this vase may have witnessed and been stained by.

[Einstein Noodle]

yep ... its all about history isn't it!? thanks for taking time John .. a treat to have your reviews always .. sun and shine on ya sir! :)
E.

[Chris Shaw]

Your beautiful poetry has taken me on two nostalgic trips. Back to my very first home in my Grandmother's house. She had two similar vases on a marble shelf above a huge fire place. The vases were positioned on either side of a sturdy mantle clock. I never saw flowers in them. They were ornamental pieces. It was a delight to remember them. And then a working rip to Beijing which didn't leave me with such fond memories. I was very homesick and found the whole experience exhausting. Your choice of music, soothing and quite lovely. A fine start to my morning. Your vase certainly evoked many emotions along with the dust. Deep emotions.

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

you went to Beijing??? how exotic my friend!! but not so much a fun trip it sounds :( i hope your life with Gramma was a treasure ..we visited mine every two years because of the distance .. would have like more memories of them than that .. but ... the ones i have are all good ones ... i have my great grandfather's Captains Clock down stairs ... very much a treasure .. i'm so glad this sparked some memories for you .. i especially appreciate your mention of the dust ;) its an important part :))))))))))))
E.

[Chris Shaw]

Ah the dust, I see her flicking her duster and I feel myself removing a layer of the stuff to see my memories more clearly. Your Grandfather's clock sounds awesome. Lovely for you to have that. Visit to Beijing was twenty years ago. It would probably be changed beyond all recognition now :)

[Einstein Noodle]

oh ...i'm sure .. 20 yrs is a long time .. i imagine far more busy and populated .. such a retched dictatorship eh!? and what a history ... wow! peace and joy sister! :)

[Neville]

Sublimely and subliminally perfect sir in a poetically perfect way.... My guess is we all have one of these for the keeping..... Top notch Gene.... Neville

[Einstein Noodle]

pretty sure you are right Nev! more than one no doubt :} glad you enjoyed my friend! means a lot!read morepretty sure you are right Nev! more than one no doubt :} glad you enjoyed my friend! means a lot!
E.

[Neville]

You have maybe literally created a literary kintsugi...Certainly as beautiful as any porcelain one in my small colection.... N :)

[Einstein Noodle]

a kintsugi???? going googling sir .. thank you! and a collection you have huh!? why am i not surprised :)

[Neville]

I have three old pieces and a poem on here somewhere about it... I shall try to resurrect it for ya... :)

[Einstein Noodle]

oh...that would be great Nev!! i look forward to it! :)

[Neville]

I haven't forgotten... honest..

[Robert Trakofler]

As a purveyor of antiquities... I love old discarded family heirlooms I can tell you that some things have a spirit to them a palpable energy like a well crafted painting or poem I look at them and they speak to me very much like this poem does! I am a bit of a nut but I cant help but to take broken vases or unwanted objects and turn them into something else:) I feel from these objects the history behind them and I refuse to allow them to be refuse much like how I feel about people:) Thanks Einstein I enjoyed this one very personally!

[Einstein Noodle]

we are on the same wave Bad One! ;) there is more value in the story than the thing .. but without the thing .. a story is lost ... i feel pretty gratified with your kind review .. thanks buddy!! best of the day to ya
E.

[emmajoy]

' there on the shelf of my best pronouncements ' .. .. an almost mystical phrase.

What wonderful writing, what wonderful history! This means so much to me: my home's scattered with things that once belonged to this or that family darling. No matter its style, whether near perfect or not, somehow it's a symbol of family continuity. Plus, whatever the item is, it has its own stained or possibly fine facade, which, for whatever reason, stands like lines on human skin.

[Einstein Noodle]

emma! I could not feel much better from reading a review .. so happy it touched you personally like that ... "..like lines on human skin" ... wow! ;)
E.

[emmajoy]

That short phrase just dropped into my mind, can't guess where it came from, dear E. but come it did.. and yes, appropriate. Tis said that the marks of age on an object is all part of its history. Loved your write..

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks Em!