Poem: "Unspoken Influences"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came from the November 6, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was prompted by flutterbychild.  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.



Unspoken Influences

A grandmother's grasp outreaches her hand:

Even after she has gone,
some touch of her lingers
like the warmth of a hand
at the small of the back
after the one pushing has let go
and the cyclist pedals down the street
seemingly alone.

A grandmother's hearing outreaches her ear:

There are the things said
and the things that go unsaid,
the arguments grabbed by the horns
and the ones foresworn out of love or fear;
but nothing said or unsaid
can muffle the listening spirit
and some things are known
that were never told.

A grandmother's heart outreaches her breast:

However raucuous the rhythm
of life in its time and its tides,
however deep the silence
after the drum has stilled,
there is always the memory of music
that thrums beneath the skin
of every descendant,
immortal affection
invisibly shaping the dance
just as wrinkled hands once led
the first tottering steps of infant feet.

A grandmother's influence outreaches entropy.