Portmanteau
It will clasp
itself shut
around the dark
compartment
we have stuffed
with our splurges-
I mean the shimmer,
the silver, the slivers
and trinkets.
I mean,
it will mantle
the hollow
core, cradle the cloaks
and cyborg novels,
the trash and slang
and Sunday brunches
over silent toast
we've smushed
inside and, I mean,
all we'll have to do
is lock it.
All we'll
have to do is lift it,
chuck it, really,
into the attic.
You'll love it-
it's humongous,
ginormous,
fantabulous-
I'd guesstimate there's space
for the unfinished bookcase,
the sorry motel with its sign
on the fritz,
the unloved afghan,
the unspoken insult,
your dumbfounded mother,
my collection of twizzle sticks,
the hamster
that died when
we left for a fortnight,
geometry, hassles, casseroles,
and under the false
bottom, a hidden
slot for all of 1986.
I mean, you'll barely
know it's there-
maybe at night a faint
clang or chortle
upstairs.
But that's the past
hinged shut,
clamped tight
beneath the attic eaves,
spread like wings
above our necessary
dreams.
~ by Gigi Thibodeau
If you don't know Gigi already, you can meet her today right here. She's a marvelous photographer, blogger, and friend. If you like the image above, click here to discover it and much more inspiration.
20 comments:
Wow. I am constantly amazed at talents & touched-by-God gifts of the women out there and your ability & generosity to show them off. Love this. But my past is bundled into a trunk with a broken lock and it slips out when I least expect it, making me giggle or cry.
xoxo
Debi
Thanks for posting - I liked this poem, how all the details build to form a picture of life and the past and the people in it.
I really enjoyed the juxtapositions, like this:
your dumbfounded mother,
my collection of twizzle sticks
Very beautiful! Gigi is a wonderful writer. Happy Sunday to you.
Thank you for sharing this Relyn. Much love to you.
...geometry, hassles, casseroles
Ah, brings back such memories. I must go meet this talented Gigi~!
Reyn! Thanks for posting one of my poems, sweet friend. I am blushing in the biggest way. What an honor to be included on your blog. And "Portmanteau" was a really interesting one to write, so it's neat to see it here. In fact, many of the words in it are portmanteau words--words that are made up of two words combined (like chortle and motel). There are also a lot of images in it that come from the etymology of the word portmanteau. I had designed an assignment for my poetry students to study a word closely, its definitions, its etymology, and then write a poem that really embodied the word. Once I wrote the assignment, I couldn't resist trying it myself, and this poem--after some tinkering and revising--was the result.
I kept imagining as I wrote it that I was a husband trying to convince a wife that this portmanteau was something they needed. It got me thinking a lot about the ways in which we deal--or don't deal--with our pasts as we head into our futures.
None of what I just wrote in this comment is important for the reader necessarily, but I thought it might be fun for people to know what triggered this poem.
Sending you the biggest hug possible!
Gigi
love.
Thoroughly enjoyed your Sunday poem today. Thanks!
Sorry I mistyped your name, Relyn! My excited fingers got ahead of me! x
R ~
Perfect photo ~ perfect poem ~ I thought you were the author until I got to the end and read Gigi. It sounds so much like your voice. Well, sweet friend, it was the perfect poem to end Spring Break with ~ see you soon! Love ~ K
I very much love the image. And I adore you and what a good teacher and blog-maker you are.
What, not Keats? Shut the fridge door!!!
Gigi? Our beloved, most talented GIG?
I never knew.
I was drawn in. What talent our little circle begets. Oh. So.
Vive le Gig. xoxo
Oh and another thing, how dare there be an unloved afghan? Really! xo
Relyn, What a beautiful poem (and site). Thank you once again for sharing not only some of your favorite words but bloggers! She really does sound like you!
Happy Sunday!
Kirsten
this is so touching! thank you for sharing...have a wonderful monday!
What a splendid offering for a spring Sunday – I thank you for sharing Gigi's lovely imagery. And thank you so very much for the overwhelming comments you just left. I'm delighted you feel inspired and loved and blessed, because you are all those things and give all those things to others. I appreciate you very much. (p.s. the house I didn't photograph? It's currently owned by Dominican nuns...even I have my photo stalking limits! But we might try one more time :) ) xo - g
Gigi weaves the most magic webs with her words... I am ever in awe and wonderment... Very special post, Relyn! :o) Happy Day ((HUGS))
goodness . how talented these two ladies are...you matched the words and image so well, i like gigis explanation of the poem ...
Hi, and thanks so much for all your nice comments on the Marmelade Gypsy! And you're right -- the quirky things DO make us feel more like real-life friends!
this was fantastic,
it carried me right along...
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