Barb and Rod
when grey dulls life’s gleam
mind wandering back to bleakness
your face, grace, returns
you turn, I follow your light
black numbness again vanquished
Punam is today’s host of dVerse’ Poetics. Punam says:
I think, we all have many, maybe hundreds, of unsent and unwritten letters inside us. So let’s write letters today. Write to your beloved, your best friend, your future self, your unborn child/grandchild, your parents, your ex, the vile politician, the celebrity you fancy, the editor of the local daily, long-lost pen-pal…to anyone (in the form of a poem, of course!).
Tao Talk 
Thank you, Li, for sharing your love for Barb. She comes alive in your handwritten letter, raw with loss and grief, and your poem, like a jewel in the palm, turning to catch the light.
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<3 I like the way you describe the poem.
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I love the handwritten letter, this makes the poem all the more real.
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<3
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You did what we all should probably have done—handwritten a letter. On condition our handwriting is as clear as yours :)
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I wish I still had some of the reams of decorative paper writing pads I used to have. I would have written on that. It used to be so fun — and real — to carry on snail mail correspondences.
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It’s so long since i’ve written a letter, I’ve forgotten what it was like. I do remember the finality of writing though. Once the words are set down, you can’t change them, unless you score through or start again. I never did.
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Jane don’t you think it is the finality as you call it of setting the words down, maybe crossing through some words, etc. is part of what makes it real? Here in the digital writing world we hit backspace and it is as if it never was.
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Yes, it is, exactly that. And we don’t like ‘real’ we prefer pretend. When you set down your emotions or thoughts on paper, that’s ‘real’. When you dash off a message with dozens of emojis and sparkly gifs, that’s pretend. Hardly any need for words at all.
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Dear Lisa,
How I wish I had decided to do as you did, and handwrite the letter for the prompt.
This is beautiful and I don’t doubt Barb would have loved every single word.
Lotsa love,
Dale
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<3 I appreciate you, Dear Dale.
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What a lovely thing to say! I appreciate you, too, Lisa :) 💞
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This is so beautiful and tender, Lisa. Thank you for sharing.
<3
David
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Thanks, David, and you’re welcome <3
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Such a touching tribute, and the fact that you’ve handwritten it shows us just how much she meant to you. Raw and powerful.
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OH MY!! A hand written letter complete with edits! Amazing. In the process of reading it, I also learned something. Aren’t you the clever one?
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:) Happy you enjoyed the letter, Helen. I learned so much from Barb, and all things that help me navigate the world better.
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p.s. everything except how to understand why covid was allowed to take her
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I love your letter to Barb. I still have a friend who will write me long letters. I do write back though not as long and must admit, we don’t write as often anymore. There is an art to letter writing and it is something we have lost.
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Di, lucky you to still get long letters from a friend. Agreed on letter writing.
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We should all have someone like that in our lives to write a letter to. (K)
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this was very beautiful! thank you for sharing.
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Ren you are welcome and thank you.
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Beautifully penned Lisa!
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Thank you, Carol.
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I have acquired some correspondents this year especially since I find myself amongst wordsmiths and though our emails have the speed of light, a hand written missive is hard to beat Lisa…
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Well-said, Andrew.
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Wow!!! What precious words; what a beautiful letter.
Much🖤love
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A touching letter and poignant poem, Lisa. I appreciated the information of communication styles as well. YOUR appreciation for her is palpable in all that you’ve shared here. It’s so beautiful when someone’s life carries forward in the hearts of those that love them.
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Mish, thank you for your kind comment. I appreciated and still appreciate how much she took us broken souls under her wing. I also know how much she suffered by taking on our pain. Truly sent from heaven.
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Thank you very much, Gillena <3
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So lovely Lisa… well done doing the handwriting, as we do forget even little mistakes when we type, and the slowness ….. love the PS too! Beautiful 💞Suzanne
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Suzanne, thank you.
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Such a beautifully written letter and poem Li.
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Thank you very much, Sadje.
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You’re always welcome my friend
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This falls somewhere between haibun and ekphrastic. Beautifully done, and such a lovely thing to share.
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Alexandra, thank you <3
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Li, you deciphered what I left unsaid! I wanted to add in the challenge that the poems should be handwritten but felt many would baulk at the idea. Thank you for the beautiful letter of appreciation and your heartfelt verse shining with love. ❤️
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Punam, thank you very much. A letter like this must be handwritten.
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Absolutely! There’s no two ways about it. You are so welcome.
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I really love your heartfelt letter, Lisa. So nice to share your feelings about one who made a difference in your life. Well done.
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Dwight, thank you, glad you connected with it.
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You are most welcome.
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The handwritten letter is a nice touch!
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:) <3
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Love to you Li; lovely to read your “real writing” as we used to call it whne using dipping pen and inkwells in the early 1960s at junior school… I still write letters, although my script is getting increasingly illegible, unlike yours… Thank you x
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Thank you very much, Someone. Glad you enjoyed it. I remember those inkwells and we used those black handled ink pens in kindergarten. You just reminded me. I didn’t connect the two for some reason lol. I didn’t like the pens and remember tearing the paper when I tried to write.
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This was really beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
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You’re welcome.
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That was really heartfelt as well Lisa…
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Thank you and glad you felt it.
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beautifully composed Lisa 💕
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Thank you very much, Someone.
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So lovely. One who can write from heart and share it with everyone is surely a pure soul. Bless you and thanks for sharing your love and your letter 💙
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Amber, I appreciate your comment, thank you.
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I love your use of a handwritten letter. Simply beautiful, Lisa!
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Sara thank you :)
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You need to bang the rocks together and visit http://www.theaardvarkskettle.com
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Excellent, Lisa. Epistolary is my favorite. I loved the cursing touch. :-)
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Bill thanks much.
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LOL — oops. cursive (the man can’t type. :-)
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lol
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