Poem Holding Its Heart In One Fist

A tribute response to Jane Hirsfield’s poem, “Poem Holding Its Heart In One Fist.”

And sometimes it’s better to counsel with our hearts
alone.

I have found that pink buds are perfect within

and destined to open.
Perhaps it’s the inclusion of personal pronouns
in daily life–
of singular I, me
and plural we, us.
A few more days of warmth and it would bloom
one need only be patient.

Even cherries as luscious as lips bear secrets,
no matter how swift we wish to extract
its nectar
ease out carefully using a chopstick
and the pit should fall through into the bottle.

As soon bathe in eucalyptus mineral bath salt
let go of the past
it’s searing worries and pain augmented
there are few things in this world that are better left
unsaid.

Yet, twilight disappeared over the horizon
the last vestiges of gutsy purple
robbing me of what little courage I had left
I stand with my soul stripped for the perusal of night.

This poem after several years of growing up
and wisdom
shall laugh and ponder upon with unrestrained tears
cherishing every moment.

 

Photo credits: Pinterest

Posted for Kerry’s Challenge @ Real Toads 

And on Open Link Night @ dVerse Poets Pub 

58 thoughts on “Poem Holding Its Heart In One Fist

  1. Kerry says:

    Perhaps it’s the inclusion of personal pronouns
    in daily life–
    of singular I, me
    and plural we, us.

    This really wins me over, Sanaa.. I love the reference to the grammar of poetry itself, and all your remarkably rich images throughout. This is a real delight.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Kerry 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️

      (and thank you for the lovely prompt) 🌹

  2. I really like the idea of a poem growing up and laughing at itself. I love the same when it happens to people, too. 🙂

    1. Sanaa says:

      Yayyyy! ❤️ Thank you so much, Magaly 😀 so glad the words resonated with you! ❤️

      (I can’t wait to read this poem after 10 years) 🌹

  3. The last four lines of this wonderful poem is a grand tribute to this remarkable poet. Lovely.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Toni 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  4. You are a loving and giving person, Sanaa, who needs romance in her life, which is encapsulated in the lines:
    ‘Perhaps it’s the inclusion of personal pronouns
    in daily life–
    of singular I, me
    and plural we, us’.
    It’s not only the poem that ‘after several years of growing up
    and wisdom / shall laugh and ponder’ – it’s the poet too.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Kim 😍 so good to see you ❤️

  5. I love Magaly’s comment and your reply. I look back now at poems i wrote when i was young and am amazed that i knew things and expressed them in my poems that i was not consciously aware of. Sometimes we know without knowing we know. A wonderful poem.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Sherry 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️

  6. HA says:

    Oh, the images and allusions here are something to cherish — the personal in the poem as well as the poet emerges in such a tender manner. I’m smiling at these lines:
    “no matter how swift we wish to extract
    its nectar/ease out carefully using a chopstick/and the pit should fall through into the bottle.”

    A lovely verse, Sanaa! 💙😊

    1. Sanaa says:

      Awww gosh! ❤️ Thank you so much, Anmol 😀 so glad you liked it! ❤️

  7. Cressida says:

    The passage of time alters our feelings. In ten months hopefully not ten years., you’ll be laughing.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Definitely 😀 thanks for stopping by, Cressida ❤️

  8. “As soon bathe in eucalyptus mineral bath salt
    let go of the past
    it’s searing worries and pain augmented
    there are few things in this world that are better left
    unsaid.” I love this. I wanted to post the whole poem here because, well, I love all of it. You are blossoming into a marvelous poet.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Awww gosh! ❤️ Thank you so much, Susie 😀 so glad you enjoyed it! ❤️

  9. gillena says:

    Luv the maturing aspect of the poet and the ability to look back with laughter. Perfect!

    Much😊love

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Gillena 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

      Much❤️love

  10. Jim says:

    Nice thoughts, Sanaa. I hope some of poems grow up, mature, and are saved and read by a few of my kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and on. My preacher friend gave me a hand bound book of mimeographed page poems he had written, they meant a lot though I’m not sure where to look for them now. Guess I’d better hurry and print some out.
    ..

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jim 😀 so good to see you ❤️

  11. I love the title, and this: Even cherries as luscious as lips bear secrets…

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Colleen 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️

  12. Bjorn Rudberg says:

    Really really love the beginning with the pronouns…. the us, we you and I… this is what matters most

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  13. /The last vestiges of gutsy purple/ snagged my interest. Nice premise here. I have been writing poetry for 60 years, and yes, some of the early stuff still holds up–but thanks to our fellowship at dVerse and elsewhere, I think my poetry is much improved, as I have snagged pieces of the many forms we have all tried–so 2,000 poems ago, the words are dusky gems in need of my more mature world view.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Glenn 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️

  14. therisa says:

    Sigh. How do I write a comment, when the words are running away, to bathe in the sunlight of your words, Sanaa? Especially, as the sun hides away, in the gray cover gloom that’s winter, in southern Ontario.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Therisa 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  15. Susan says:

    This is a charming poem. It’s one of those rare pieces that will stick with me for a good long while. Good writing!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Awww gosh! ❤️ Thank you so much, Susan 😀 so glad you enjoyed it! ❤️

  16. Grace says:

    I specially admire the ending stanza; signs of maturity by the poet.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Grace 😀 so good to see you ❤️

  17. Mish says:

    I suppose poems can be a reflec8of our youth. I love to look back at earlier ones with a different perspective. I believe in these words…”there are few things in this world that are better left
    unsaid.”

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Michelle 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  18. Mish says:

    That should read “reflection”. Oops.

    1. Sanaa says:

      ❤️❤️❤️

  19. A beautiful poem.. I liked this line….Even cherries as luscious as lips bear secrets,
    Yes, we all have our pits…

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Dwight 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️

  20. This was fantastic! Great imagery and words. 🙂

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Arcadia Maria 😀 so good to see you ❤️

  21. Jade Li says:

    The last stanza steps outside for a moment. Reminds me of Frost’s poem about the road.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jade 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  22. I like how this starts–like it’s the middle of a conversation–and then ends with a reflection of how the poem has grown. I really like that last stanza.
    And this: “Perhaps it’s the inclusion of personal pronouns
    in daily life–
    of singular I, me
    and plural we, us.
    A few more days of warmth and it would bloom
    one need only be patient.”
    Lovely poem!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Merril 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️

  23. Kerfe says:

    I really like the way you use color and form to evoke emotion.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Kerfe 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  24. Frank Hubeny says:

    Good observation in the first line that the best counsel may come from the heart alone.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Frank 😀 so good to see you ❤️

  25. The first line and the shape of it are beautiful.
    “And sometimes it’s better to counsel with our
    hearts
    alone. “

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Ruth 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  26. Nora says:

    ‘cherries as luscious as lips bear secrets’ is absolutely Shakespearean, Sanaa.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Nora 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️

  27. Oh, such a beautiful cascade of evocative images and portrayals of longing! I love this line, especially:

    ” Even cherries as luscious as lips bear secrets”

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Frank 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️

  28. Anita says:

    Patience has its own rewards. The bud will bloom for sure.
    Time is the healing factor. One day, everything will be clear! 🙂
    Nice words.
    Zero Tolerance For Misinformation – Anita

    1. Sanaa says:

      Definitely 🙂 thanks for stopping by, Anita ❤️

  29. “one need only be patient”
    This is true of so many situations, not the least of which is the blooming of flowers.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Definitely 🙂 thanks for stopping by, Linda ❤️

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