Shattered, or: Infinite

Posted on by ben Alexander

Poetry Partners #46

A poem by Karina Lutz of ‘Poetry for the Great Turning’

The heirloom mirror
doubled the living room.
She loved looking in it
and seeing them:
mother, grandmother,
memories: the smiles
her own turned into
when her own face faded
to background.

Foreground: meaning 
they'd each added to the object.

Each recall:
another layer of patina,
darkening of age.
smudging of detail,
dodging and burning
in the darkroom,
colorization of sepia.

One day, as she looked,
the mirror literally let go of the wall.
On the ground:
shards.

A Cadralor by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

(composed of 5 kimos)

I.
heart long still, decomposing in the earth;
family and friends gathered;
a headstone erected
II.
shattered, old heart equipped with pacemaker,
he barely survives his wife;
loving children worried
III.
small child deeply absorbs his parents' pain;
cannot comprehend an end;
draws them hearts and flowers
IV.
ear to her bare chest, he hears her heartbeat;
his tears glisten on her breast,
solace in lovemaking
V.
sharp shards of shattered heart in her mirror
continue pulsing as one
around infinity

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

40 thoughts on “Shattered, or: Infinite”

  2. Both poems are lovely, David! Number III reminded me how our children and our pets understand and react appropriately to emotion even if they can’t understand the circumstances behind it.

    When my grandfather was dying far away, I lay face down on the carpet and cried. My daughter’s cat, Sunshine, came and lay beside me to comfort me.

    The day my husband died, our dog Clifford slept with the children and me on the king-sized water bed. He mourned along with us for a month. I am sure that he did realize that Drew was dead. He always slept with me after that.

    In my last year of teaching, my elementary students could tell when I wasn’t feeling well. “Don’t worry, Miss Cheryl,” they said, “we will help you today!” And they were even more wonderful than usual!

    1. 💔 Cheryl 💔 – thank you for sharing. That stanza was inspired by my daughter’s reaction when my father died. She was only 3.5-yrs-old at the time, and she had no concept of death, but she knew something was horribly wrong…

  10. I love the ending four lines of the first poem. And your response, David; the second & third kimos, really touched my heart.

    Great work, the both of you!

  11. Oh it is so terrible when a mirror falls and shatters
    There are so many symbolism accompanying those shards, like death is imminent. Come to think of it those frame photographs when shattered carries a message

    ●The heirloom mirror doubled the living room. She loved looking in it and seeing them: mother, grandmother, memories: the smiles her own turned into when her own face faded to background.●

    This is what most human beings do it is so real, especially for young girls and women.

    All the kimos are soul stirring
    And some are spine chilling

    Kimo IV
    Is sensitively human and lovely

    Kimo V hit me

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