Sunday, May 17, 2009

CIL - The Three Egg Omelette

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Once, when my mother was sick, my father said "If she's going, I'm going."
His method of choice was to ignore health warnings.
I have used the Villanelle form for this poem.

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The Three Egg Omelette

His wife lies in a hospital bed;
The house is empty, cold and bland,
And he fears the future will not be shared.

He free admits to being scared.
After fifty years of holding hands,
His wife lies in a hospital bed.

Demons dance within his head,
Whispering darkly, beyond command,
And he fears the future will not be shared.

The prospect fills his heart with dread,
It wasn’t in their wedding plans:
His wife lying in a hospital bed.

Inseparable since the day they wed,
With a love that few could understand,
Now he fears the future will not be shared.

Ignoring his wife’s cholesterol ban,
He breaks three eggs into the pan.
His wife lies in a hospital bed,
And he fears the future will not be shared.

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© J Cosmo Newbery
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38 comments:

  1. Aww, that makes me sad. I want to love someone that much.

    I've missed you terribly... glad to see you tonight! x

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  2. Fan-freakin-tastic, J Cosmo...beautiful. Well done...
    x

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  3. I mean seriously, bravo...I loved it.

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  4. The line, "tis better to have loved and lost"
    was probably written at no great cost.
    The author never having lost a thing.
    Never having the saddest song to sing.

    Even as close to death of Gni Gni,
    just like Ha Ha San, and before her, Beanie,
    It will strike deep. Testing faith I've longed to keep.

    Ah, but time, what escape is there?
    If he fears the future, he has not shared

    In all the beautiful Springs they had
    The Summers and Falls that made them glad.
    Even the Winters, cold, wet, dry or hot.
    These are the things truly shared, are they not?

    Oh, heck, how can I say to tell?
    I'm just glad you've decided on CIL.
    For as I remember, mine may have been quite wrong.
    Seems to me it was way too long.

    Welcome back, though, friend, and I hope your talented hand and pen,
    Will bring us many more stories and tales.
    And, heck, they can't ALL be happy gales.
    For too much laughter is like a limerick, I suppose.
    Make a person throw up sick through their nose.

    (sorry. The main problem with Walking on Alligator poetry is that one paintes one's self into a corner on occasion.)

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  5. Diane: Thank you. Very much.

    Braja: I can live with "Fan-freakin-tastic". Good to see you are well on the mend.

    Boneman: What can I say? You are a living treasure.

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  6. J,
    As you can tell...your friends still check daily to see if you are back...even if for a day.

    If this is an ongoing issue with your mom...hope things work for the best.

    Good to hear from you.

    Dan

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  7. That is touching and so sad... terrifying to left behind after all of those years shared. ♡

    My Mum passed away and left my Dad behind, they had just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, he was sad and lost. ♡

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  8. this is lovely .. and so very touching and sad.

    sometimes i look into the future and wonder which one of us will be in that position ... that is if all goes well over the next few decades. then i quickly retreat back to the present.
    it's sad, indeed.
    i sincerely hope your mother is as comfortable as possible.

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  9. What happened? Hope you mum recovered after this?

    Brilliant poem! So happy to see you back in action... at least for today.

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  10. Good to see you around and about. Hope all goes well.

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  11. This is a romantic one. I do have the same thought..you go, I go. You jump, I jump. But if only what we want we can get..

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  12. Welcome back. A very touching poem... great imagery.

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  13. What a beautiful, sad and touching poem. To love someone so much...

    It was good to see your name pop on my reading list. I'd been missing you. :)

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  14. What a lovely homecoming for me to return from vacation and find such a lovely poem on your blog! Have missed you but this was well worth waiting for!

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  15. Why dear Anonymous, you appear as scrambled as my father's omelette.

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  16. You are a Prince, sweet Cosmo...thank you for remembering my special day <3

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  17. I love this poem; I came to see if you'd updated your blog, so read and enjoyed it all over again :)

    LOVE the thoughts of Anonymous....???

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  18. Just found your site via your facebook. I love your work. Have you had anything published? You should have!!

    Emma

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  19. Another fine offering, JCN!! And someone recently explained to me the difference between a serviette and a napkin.....especially down under. I think you chose your blog name well considering the difference.

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  20. Thinking of you...

    Jiggery Pokery
    J Cosmo Newbery
    Charmed us with poetry -
    naughty and terse.

    Gone on a walkabout -
    Leaving his friends to shout
    J-categorically,
    "It could be verse!!"

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  21. I hope you are well J Cosmo...when you return there is an award at my blog waiting for you. ♡

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  22. This made me weep... huge sobs, huge tears.
    You voice how I feel about my beloved man, my life's partner and the reason I breathe.
    Thank you, you have touched me deeply.

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  23. waiting for the big CL to arrive,
    and into it I will surely dive!
    (and don't call me shirley, please)
    (dang, that one's so old, it must have fleas)

    d=))

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  24. Should it be the CL of approval?

    Or disapproval?

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  25. I hope you are well dear J Cosmo?
    You are missed. ♡

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  26. Powerful write my friend - you summon up so much here that perhaps many of us are instinctively afraid to face head on - Thankyou...

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  27. There is a beautiful sadness in this poem which many couples will experience when they recall the halcyon days of their marriage when all was well.

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  28. Despite the fear, he goes on. Brave soul!

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  29. I'll die by egg any day! I like the way you used the ingredients of this memory/scene. Great set-up and punchline ending.

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  30. This is so terribly sad... and real. I wonder if he will truly enjoy that omelet. Or, if it will be seasoned by tears.

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  31. I get this way sometimes too, in moments when my husband's blood sugar decides to spike up and down. He manages his diabetes fairly well though, so I try not to worry too much.

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  32. In the last ten of the more than 50 of my parents' marriage, he was debilitated by a stroke and she with Alzheimer's. For a number of years each compensated for the other. When he went first, she was lost with no one to remind her of the children's names and what day it was. I saw written on her calendar on a day in March "This is today" and wondered if she was lost in an unending March day. It was so sad, as was your poem.

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  33. Beautifully done. A sad ending to their togetherness, and yet how lovely to have shared such love.

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  34. A future was meant to be shared. Sad but beautifully written

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