Friday, March 23, 2018

A Few Poems In Passing by Francesca Quarto


A Few Poems In Passing by Francesca Quarto

Fighting the Time Thief  
He enters silently, leaving no trace of his having touched me while I slept.
He is without conscience in the damage he inflicts, his only concern is marking me, the next day, the next month, the next year.
Marked with the passage of his unseen hand, I am altered, moment by moment, until I become a stranger in the mirror.
Escape is impossible, Time will own me.
But a truce will be struck in this battle against the inevitable Thief stealing my youth, my vigor, my life.
I shall go gracefully, falling eventually to the winnowing floor.
I shall, however, go with my thumb in his eye when he winks me out of Time.
Could I do less?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rich and Poor
If life was comprised only of the generous souls,
would our perceptions of kindness be diminished by its constant presence?
Perhaps we are hard-wired to expect the least amount of good in others
so that we can appreciate the gift, even in its paucity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Fly
Sitting at a local book store
my own penned words on display
A woman looking over my books from the corner of her roving eye
Coming close enough now to inspect, but never to light
Not enough food for thought perhaps?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Being A Writer
Writing is like a boat that you climb aboard
without knowing what your destination is
how long you'll be on the journey
or who's manning the wheel.
What an amazing trip!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loves Remembered
How cruel, the hand of time
pushing us unresisting, into the arms of an unknown tomorrow
How unforgiving the pressure of decline
Twisting, bending, etching the very passage of our memories
upon the once pristine palates of our faces
But also, how kind the echoes of time
while it makes its journey
carrying us along like kites tied to long, colorful ribbon
floating forward and backwards
always gathering the beauty and shedding the weight of mortality
Remembering loves of yesterday and quickly renewed
by the power of their love having been ours.


6 comments:

S.K. Dubois said...

"Book Fly" resonates with me today--what catches that fleeting glance? No idea! But I like that image of the fly landing and then flitting away.

"Time Thief" is another one that got me. It feels that way sometimes, but that's when the old attitude needs a kick.

All together very evocative pieces. Thanks so much for sharing them.

Francesca Quarto said...

Sorchia,
I hoped I wasn't spreading any gloom about, so glad you had some positive take-aways! Thanks much for your comments. Happy words to you!
Francesca Q.

Diane Burton said...

Great poetry, Francesca. Your posts are always a surprise. Fighting the Time Thief expresses how I feel some days. Okay, many days. LOL The Book Fly: I've felt that way, too. What makes a person stop? Thanks for sharing.

Nancy Gideon said...

Love these, Fran!! Each echoes very personally.

Francesca Quarto said...

You make this cold morning lots warmer dear!! I can't do much with the echoes, but if you whistle, you can set your sighs to music!
Happy Spring lady!
Francesca Q.

Elizabeth Alsobrooks said...

Wonderful poems. I know all the writers can relate to Book Fly, and I love the second one too. My favorites.