Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A Palindrome Poem

April is National Poetry Month. One of the most amazing poems I've ever read was written by C. Sonberg Larson. We belong to the same critique group, Books Born Here. I'm honored that Larson gave me permission to share it with you.


SAMSARA

Crying, mother young.
See eyes, watery and blue, skin wet, soul ancient.
Breathing.
Birthing another.
Light blinding. Sterile, white room.
Cold air.
Screaming. Intense pain. Wailing. Pushing.
Rushing blood, warm, out held hand.
Red appears, light filters, skin and womb.
Here, I am, wondering, waiting. Vulnerable and hairless. Dependent.
Lives past, toiling and suffering, mistakes noted.
Repeating life. Again chosen.
Gone are months of warmth and safety.
Awaiting birth.
Miracle or retribution?
Unfair, so unfair.
Retribution or miracle?
Birth awaiting.
Safety and warmth of months are gone.
Chosen again. Life repeating.
Noted mistakes, suffering and toiling, past lives.
Dependent. Hairless and vulnerable, waiting, wondering, am I here.
Womb and skin filters light, appears red.
Hand held out. Warm, blood rushing.
Pushing. Wailing. Pain intense. Screaming.
Air cold.
Room, white, sterile. Blinding light.
Another birthing.
Breathing.
Ancient soul, wet skin, blue and watery eyes see
young mother, crying.

**Please note that this poem is a palindrome—it reads the same forward and backward**

C. Sonberg Larson has been writing stories since the age of seven. Larson is an ongoing member of SCBWI,as well as critique groups Books Born Here and Invincible Ink.  Larson is expected to release a body of work for sale online in the fall. 


I hope you enjoyed C. Sonberg Larson's palindrome poem. Do you like poetry? Do you have a favorite?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. Goes to show, life is one big cycle :)

Jennie Bennett said...

I wonder if this is how the child in my womb really feels :)

Old Kitty said...

I am in awe. Just beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing! Take care
x

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Clever clever.

Robyn Campbell said...

Absolutely lovely. Would you thank her for me? I can't wait to read her book that comes out in the fall. Is it poetry? She's got the gift, pal. (((hugs)))

Stephanie, PQW said...

Just plain AWESOME!

Jennifer Jensen said...

This was absolutely beautiful!

Theresa Milstein said...

Wow.

Anonymous said...

Very well written! Thanks for sharing this with us.

catherinemjohnson.com said...

That is beautiful and incredible. What a difficult poem to write as a palindrome. Very clever!

Coleen Patrick said...

Beautiful--and I'm in awe at the structure! Wow! Thanks for sharing Lynn!

Jennette Marie Powell said...

I am not usually big on poetry, but this is wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

Tracy Jo said...

Wow. That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing!

Nelson said...

Hello Lynn! My first visit, will visit you again. Seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed your posts( really interesting blog). Would be great if you could visit also mine...Thanks for sharing! Keep up the fantastic work!

LynNerdKelley said...

I apologize for not replying to your comments. I've been overwhelmed with so much going on since we moved and I started babysitting full time, plus oodles of other life things that have come up.

But I want to thank all of you for leaving your comments. I'm so glad you enjoyed my friend's poem.