Found in Translation
She gasps, waves her hand as
something
is announced on the radio,
motions me
to listen as she turns up the
volume.
Being in her country, not at
all fluent in
her tongue, no trace of
comprehension
as I stare between her and
the radio dial.
Turning the sound back down,
she repeats
distinctly, slowly the same
words I heard,
yet still fail to understand
their meaning.
She tunes to an
English-speaking station,
I hear the report. Paris is
under attack. Our
tears speak a language we
both understand
Carl "Papa" Palmer,
retired Army, retired FAA, now just plain retired, lives in University Place,
Washington. He has seven chapbooks and a contest winning poem riding buses
somewhere in Seattle. Carl has been nominated for the Micro Award and Pushcart
Prize.
MOTTO: Long Weekends Forever
www.authorsden.com/carlpalmer
yes, grief/shock is a universal language!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your astute comment, Jack. I enjoy your BLOG.
DeleteProves we do not need a lot of wasted time to understand each other. A.G. PLAYER
ReplyDeleteThank you, my friend, universal.
DeleteAnother good'n
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed this, Jason.
DeleteAs you know, revised from my 9/11 poem
published in "THE HARSH AND THE HEART" anthology,
part of the SILVER BOOMERS collection in your bookshelf.
"Found in Translation" is a very moving poem by my friend Carl "Papa" Palmer about the recent tragic terrorist attack in Paris. It moves us deeply with its tenderness and directness.
ReplyDeleteRaymond Keen - author of "Love Poems for Cannibals"
Coming from an outstanding poet as RAYMOND KEEN, I am honored.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing and sharing your poem. We continue to feel the tragedy in Paris--we all share in that pain and suffering.
ReplyDelete