The Decanto Poetry Magazine/Anthology has seen fit to publish a poem of mine!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

Elegy To My Grandmother

Grandmother’s gone
She of the auburn red hair, braided into buns
over her ears–

She can no longer advise me,
she who gave me space
as I grew into adulthood
on that summer day when I was young.

She saw me as an adult
the way no one else had.
She made no judgments
on my ways.
She supported my moods
however they showed.

She can no longer polish her
hardwood floors.
Her Swede-killer brush has gone
and there is no one to wield it.
Nor are there any floors
to polish anymore–

Gone too are the windows I gazed from–
into the soft summer nights
when my heart was torn
by desire and loss.

The windows where I saw the faint outlines
and red tail lights of the car
belonging to my heart’s first
love and my body’s desire.

She is gone, who gave me a melancholy book
to match my mood.
She had been in that place–
She knew what I needed–

She stood by me.

I miss her.

© MLC 2012

[WCGreen]

1. One of your best, Peg...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Why, thank you, Chris...

[LeftofObama]

3. That is beautiful!

Thank you so much for sharing it and congrats on getting it published!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Thank you so much, my dear LeftofObama!

[Gorp]

4. Excellent!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Thank you for your good thought, my dear Gorp!

[nolabear]

5. Marvelous, Peggy! You're racking up quite the CV. Congratulations!

Well done.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. Thank you, my dear nolabear!

Ah, I haven't done much, yet...

But I AM working on it!

Thank you so much, sweetie!

[Baitball Blogger]

6. Very nice!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Thank you so much, my dear Baitball Blogger! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[CrazyOrangeCat]

11. I like that. A lot.

Spare and evocative.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Thank you, my dear CrazyOrangeCat!

It's actually not as spare as most of my work...

This one is positively wordy!

But I appreciate your take on it. It was deeply felt, as it was rooted in my own experience when I was 18.

[NYC_SKP]

13. Bravo!

My dad passed away yesterday, the day you posted this. It was coming, it was his time.

I didn't see your poem until today, being busy and all.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. My dear NYC_SKP!

Oh, sweetie........I am so sorry for your loss...

I think you were busy!

Thank you for your very kind words in the midst of all that....

[Wounded Bear]

15. Well written, Peg!

And congrats on publication.

You've captured that sense of loss that haunts so many of us.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thank you, my dear Wounded Bear!

I appreciate your incisive comments very much...

I wrote from my heart, as I normally do...It was a time of great transition for me.

[zanana1]

17. you've been published!

No small feat. Congratulations; beautiful poem.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Thank you, my dear zanana1!

Indeed I have, and this is not the first time. I've only published about a dozen poems since 2008, when I started seriously pursuing publication. I haven't been aggressive about it at all.

I greatly appreciate your very kind remarks!