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The End

Unraveled string may be rewound,
__A hidden thing be sighted;
A missing object may be found,
__A fallen object righted;

A candle snuffed can be relit,
__And if a glass has spilled,
That doesn’t mean the end of it—
__It still may be refilled.

A soiled cloth may be made clean,
__A wet one be made dry;
A dull brown field in spring turns green—
__It doesn’t even try.

But life—sweet life’s a fragile thing,
__For once sweet life has fled,
No matter what the mourners bring,
__The loved one still is dead.

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Disappearing Act

I’d like to pluck my entrails out and scrub them clean of you
__(Who quit my life and left without a trace),
And then I’ll give my brain a thorough washing when I’m through—
__Obliterate all memory of your face.

No matter that you were the reason that I rose each day,
__The very life and purpose in my veins;
My light, my sun, my color in a universe of gray.
__The marrow’s gone, just hollow bone remains.

And so, my erstwhile everything, I’d sooner purge it all—
__The heartache, and the happiness as well.
Once rid of you, no sense of loss will ever more appall,
__As though I’d always been an empty shell.

Previously published in The Lyric

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Most Fitting

As one may love a house with creaking stair,
With crumbling mortar, and with chipping paint,
And barely notice any defect there
Because it makes the home more droll and quaint;
As one may much prefer a favorite sweater,
Though it be fairly faded and well worn,
To the neglect of garments newer, better,
Left hanging in the closet quite forlorn;
Just so with deeper matters of the heart:
Though one search high and low for sheer perfection
To find the best, most worthy counterpart,
When it comes down to making a selection,
__Forget the highest rated looks and wits—
__One’s choice should be the soul who truly fits.

Previously published in WestWard Quarterly

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A Pennsylvania native now residing in Colorado, Anna J. Arredondo is an engineer by education, a home educator by choice, and by preference, a poet. She also has poems published (or forthcoming) in The Lyric, Time of Singing, Light, Blue Unicorn, Better Than Starbucks, and WestWard Quarterly.

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11 Responses

  1. Paul Freeman

    You have a unique voice, Anna.

    You’re poetry is varied, highly readable and excellent.

    Nothing more to say, really.

    Thanks for the reads.

    Reply
  3. Norma Pain

    Fabulous poetry Anna. I loved, “But life – sweet life’s a fragile thing”.
    “Disappearing Act” is my favorite. I love your style of poetry Anna. Like Paul says, you have a unique voice. Thank you.

    Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    Well chosen images ordered by classic rhetoric, Anna. The three poems have different tone and topics, but all are nicely done treatments of “deeper matters of the heart.”

    Reply
  5. Joseph S. Salemi

    All three are excellent work. “The End” has a strong 17th-century feel and sound to it, while “Disappearing Act” reminds me of Dorothy Parker, with her acerbic wit.

    In the sonnet “Most Fitting,” note that the volta doesn’t come until line 10. This delay (placing it between the expected line 8 of a Petrarchan piece, and line 12 of a Shakespearean piece) allows the poet to create two solid and developed similes in the octet, and to give a full complementary conclusion in the final comparison with choosing a mate.

    The poet has let the subject matter control the structure of the sonnet, rather than the reverse. It’s very skillful.

    Reply
  6. Sally Cook

    Anna, these are poems of loss and deprivarion, one scarcely knows what is lost or gone beyon recall. A child, a lover; a season? Or even one’s own self?

    You are skillful and offer much in your multi-layered manner.

    Reply
  7. Tiree MacGregor

    Good, better, best? Such an abbreviated judgement merely speaks to my impressionistic preferences, and it fails to do justice to the first poem, which achieves excellence. The mastery is everywhere evident, in the metre and rhythm, stanza and rhyme, diction, syntax, handling of figures, and structure. I’d be interested to know which of the three poems the poet is most pleased with.

    Thank you, Anna J. Arredondo.

    Reply
  8. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Anna, all three poems are exquisitely crafted. The attention to the finer details shines, and the adept use of rhyme and meter never once detracts from the potency of each message. My favorite is ‘The End’ because the deceptively simple and straight forward explanations in each stanza build up to an ending that is unexpectedly, heart-crushingly agonizing… in its matter-of-fact finality. Tear-pricking perfection!

    Reply
  9. Geoffrey S.

    These are all so good. “Most Fitting” reminds me of Shakespeare’s “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” Wonderful closing couplet that concludes the argument. The first is Emily Dickensesque, observant of ordinary details with death as its theme. I hope you don’t mind my comparisons. Those are two of my favorite poets.

    Reply
  10. C.B. Anderson

    You are good, Anna, even better than you already know. Don’t ever stop.

    Reply
  11. Anna J. Arredondo

    Thank you all for your generous and encouraging remarks. Much appreciated!

    Reply

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