lampstand

the wisdom keeping track of things,
I've not sought to grasp it
and I know there's risks in looking back
(a snake-haired lady did that once),
yet here I am: gazing still...
and while today's an open door
propped with a statuette
it is memories after all
that furnish this home around me

like the lampstand here,
carried over years ago from the mother-land
where I planted a tree for each child of hers:
one atop a hill
one in the creek's trough
one in the garden, placenta below

so time goes on (and I'm not sore at all):
seasons turn with extremes
one way and then another -
with months of 'not much'
crawling slowly in between...

i've no way to know exactly how they've faired
except to say that, in my eyes
they are large
they are living
they stand on a deep rock

And now i look around in here -
this house with dated furnishings,
I find what holds the roof up still:
even if it leans a little
and on occasion shakes

Reviews

[Amanda Reynolds]

You are a great storyteller- this is a gift and thank you for sharing it. I love how you illuminated the importance of a seemingly unimportant lampstand to symbolize so much.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Has an Elizabeth Bishop feel to it.

Winston

[Sami Khalil]

I like your style
Depth of wisdom permeates the lines stacked.

[Akinlolu]

Looking back can be risky. It can also be good or bad depending on perspective and where you stand. Though looking back cost Medusa her medulla, but I believe it can help us get a sense of where we are and how far we have come and how much we have accomplished. In that sense, looking back can be tactical, creative and mathematical.
Some people destroy trees. Others plant and nurture them. I think you are a lover of nature.
We can learn from trees. They flow with seasons and never complain about time. With time, they grow strong and larger than life.
It seems our generation is in too much hurry to move on to the next thing. The pace is killing. We should take things a bit slow like the trees.
I enjoyed this piece.
Akinlolu

[Michael Sun Bear]

You tell a very interesting story. I can picture each tree where planted, still growing, thriving. I really admire your writing in the stanza about the seasons. How autobiographical is this? If you do’t mind my asking, did you immigrate from one country to another? Anyway, great poem Lara.

[Patricia]

This is fabulous writing! there is depth with a flow you want to slow to read the stanza again and then read the poem over again. I adore this, in my library it will go.