Sculpting a Memory
Sculpting a Memory
His rough hands trace smooth curves
of muscle in marble, search for some
crevice, some secret cache of emotion.
There, there’s the spot: that quick flick
of the wrist, that sharp ridge beneath
the angled arm, the hiccup of the chisel
slipping as he recalls the slammed door,
the unmade bed, the polished shimmer
of her skin he struggled so to capture,
now dimmed and deadened with goodbye.
He burrs and sands the flaw, erases it from
the stone that, like the heart, still holds
reminders, unseen scars that build just
below the surface, hairline faults
that someday will crack and quake.
-refers from Beebe Barksdale-Bruner’s artwork titled Moonlight
4 Responses “Sculpting a Memory” →
Debbie
March 28, 2011
This works so well, on it’s own and with Moonlight! Thank you Donna!
Jeanette Gallagher
March 29, 2011
Emotions linked to a memory truly are like a sculpture frozen in time until the thaw. I love the last three lines since with shock, in the beginning there is no pain, but at the end the ‘crack and quake.’ I felt this poem. I like it.
jessiecarty
March 29, 2011
So glad you guys are enjoying this!
Donna Vorreyer
April 5, 2011
Thanks, everyone.