mater dolorosa
56mater dolorosa
Latin
the sorrowful mother.
(initial capital letters) the mother of Christ sorrowing for her son.
.
this dark flower that I cling to on my
breast shall not fade. it will stay with
me, locked, in this tower that I built.
an island in a sea of tears that I have
shed for a thousand years for you. the
stars may forget to lift their veils, and
the moon may forever slumber, but my
eyes will refuse to tire or dim. they
shall seek and behold your beauty in the
gloaming and in every dawn. the sun
may forsake rising for all eternity
but I will endure longer and, faithfully,
speak your name in my darkest hours,
even through the labyrinth of my sleep.
go now, my sweet. set off to where I
cannot follow. take with you the purest
love my soul can depart with and embrace
it like you did my face when you first
breathed life from my life. go. fly now
to the distant shores of white where
pain is a stranger. hold aloft a torch
for me and keep it burning while I linger
for a moment in the shadows and mist,
in the east of your west, and dream of
your smile as I ponder upon the fragile
veins of a newborn leaf, and recall your
scent in all the passes you have treaded
upon, with me never a footstep behind.
ah my dearest one, you have broken my
heart! and it shall not come to pass like
days that roll into nights that roll into days.
this sweetest of aches, I will let dwell in
my remembrances. kept within the walls
of my desire to remember, beyond the
reach of summers and falling rain. beyond
myself, beyond the passing of age and time.
i am letting go but do not fret for me, my
love. go without a care for me not
even an afterthought. my
sorrow is my light,
my child.
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Comments
Ah, I'm moved by the persona's letting go tone; by that love in the poem which is at its purest dimension. Your poem's tone sort of pricks my eyes with its ageless message of giving one's all for the beloved.
...I ponder upon the fragile veins of a newborn leaf..... beautifully said, Cris.
The gray rose before the poem is a message in itself. As I scrolled down, the red petal
blew off another message which is as intuitive and as "unsayable" as love and letting go!
Dink96
Thanks for the kind words. :D
France
Your comments are like mini-hubs. Yes, there's no greater love than that of a mother's love for her child. And love sometimes is just a word. Thanks for always taking the time to comment. :D
What always impresses me about your writing is the perfection of many of the vocabulary choices. Gloaming is such an evocative word. Now I gotta go back read the rest!
One word====BEAUTIFUL.
res dolorosa, mater dolorosa. I can't imagine losing a child; any child. This is resigned, rather than intense -- an interesting choice to have made, snd one that works quietly rather than immediately. Nice.
Ms Ginn
And that was a beautiful comment. Thank you.
Ms Tombe
You spoil me with your comments but I lurve it.
I think we have seen lots of movies with the obligatory intense, hysterical drama for the sorrowful mother. So I opted for the road less traveled and went quiet with this one. For after all, love in its most unconditional state, accepts even the fate of death.
Thanks for dropping by ladies :D
Cris
You are one of the very few people whose hubs I read from begining to end. And sometimes twice too. I admire the natural poetic instinct that lies within you. I am Touched, Touche!
Ohh. I imagine only a mother's love would be SO unconditional. Very beautiful, Cris. Besos.
nazish
Glad you like this one and thanks for always reading my hubs. Your words keeps me inspired. :D
Elena.
That's what I imagined too when I was writing this one. Thanks for dropping by :D
More magic from the keyboard of Cris A. Wow!
Cris, sad subject matter indeed. I hope reading your poem, is the closest I ever get to knowing what it feels like to lose a child.
Chris - Thanks for the compliment.
Patty - Yeah we all hope for the best. Thanks for dropping by.
:D
Gosh Chris, you do have a talent for leaving one speechless!
FP
LOL good thing you still can type! Thanks, i'm glad the cat got your tongue - it means you like this :D
awww...this is what my parents must of felt when we are off on our own. This really inspires me to call them up now, but its waaay past their bedtime.
I stay countries away from my parents, and I know how they must feel about it ! Thanks for sharing this poem. Great job !!
Cris
I am a perseverant stalker. You can always count on me :D.
may. rimsflorida, nazish
Thanks for reading and commenting. :D
Absolutely perfect Cris - that 'gloaming' caught my eye and stayed with me - I should have known Teresa would be there first :D
Flows so well, tugging at the heartstrings and the visual just completes it. Black and white with a fallen red petal - superlative!
Magnificent as usual Cris. Even those who aren't mothers can surely feel the power of emotion here. As a mother, these beautiful words crush my heart even though they show a resignation in knowing that there are things beyond a mother's power to control, so you simply have to accept.
What made me weep was the very last part which shows the true unconditional love of a mother who has an intense caring beyond herself and doesn't want her pain to be felt by the child so that the child can fly free (in life or death) and not be burdened by any type of remorse or pain. Lovely, sad, profound, and universal. :)
Is there no end to your talent young man !
Shalini
Yes, Teresa beat you to it. Thanks for the kind words - perfect and superlative, now what did I do right? LOL :D
Wow... You're really effective as a prose poem writer, Chris. That would be my imput,;). You should do more like that.
Pam
Your comments validated what I "imagined" to be the characteristics of a mother's love. I apologize if this made you weep, but I think it was a good cry for nothing is more beautiful than the higher form of love that a mother has for her child. Thanks for dropping by and leaving an inspired comment. :D
bad
i definitely hope not! LOL thanks for dropping by man :D
Lita
Why thanks! Coming from a poet like you makes the experience of writing this rewarding :D
letting go is the hardest physical emotion imaginable. you have again expressed this emotion, effortlessly, into words. thank you.
Sandy
I agree, letting go requires a bigger heart. And we all know mothers have big big hearts that we can only be forever in awe of. thanks for dropping by. I'd write more to see more of you around. promise. :D
That was very lovely. Filled with yearning and acceptance. I love reading your poetry!
kari
and i like reading yours, too! thanks for checking out this one :D
and recall your scent in all the passes you have treaded upon, with me never a footstep behind." Just wonderful prose my son
C!
Your doing work overtime! But I'm glad to see Blake's face all over my hubs! Thanks :D
Sheer beauty. However did you capture the heart of a woman and transform them into this piece. The flow, the sounds of each word so perfectly matched to the emotions. Awesome Cris. I'm dumbfounded. You never cease to amaze me.
I have loved and lost and multiplied the intensity of the experience by a 100.
kidding aside, well i used alot of imagination and I hope I came close. Thanks for dropping by :D
savage poem
aine
I'll take your comment as a compliment. Thanks for dropping a line :D
Just popped by to say I enjoyed that one and to let you know I still hate you....
Ahhh I might start to believe you when you've said it a hundred times. Might. :D
wow Cris! DID i ever tell you that you have a great gift in writing. The words flow yet they seem so pure and speak to the heart. I've thought this to be one of the wowy hubs of yours, but i have found myself wrong. This is not a wowy hub this is a gem between all. I have been intrigued by your style of writing and words that mean much to all of us. You have done us all a favor by sharing your masterpiece here. THank YOU!
Uriel
Thank you, one of the best compliments I've ever received. You are almost too kind with your words. I think I wrote this for mother's day. it's one of the saddest poems that i've ever written - glad you liked it :D
Why didn't I see this one before, just came over to read something you wrote to lift my spirits....... come on get the book done, so I can read them each day, there will come a time when I go back to work and having time to come on here will be very much a thing of the past. Have a lovely day, Brenda x
Brenda
Okay okay I'll think about it. Thanks for the encouragement :D
Dink96 says:
7 months ago
Very nice, Cris. Thank you for writing and sharing that. Lovely.