GRATEFUL AND MYSTIFIED

What kind of synapses are they
that lay dormant for seventy-four years
and are only wakened by seeing words?
Dodgem's poem read "Suffer little children..."
and as these words permeated my brain
the synapses, of which I speak, fired up -
apparently unrequested and uninvited -
and brought back to my ageing brain
a picture of my mother beside my bed
reciting an undevoted prayer to me:
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
look upon this little child..."
And I become astounded by the recall
of an entire poetic prayer learned, then,
by rote in formative years long gone.
Why did they awaken?  What for?
The only thing I can imagine
as the answer, is that this would be
one more rare memory of mother
being soft, motherly and gentle.
These occasional flashes from the past
help take some sharp edges off
my otherwise hard jagged image of her.
For that I should be, and am
grateful - even though mystified.

 

 

© Griffonner 2024





Poetry by Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
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Written on 2024-01-10 at 16:57

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Marie Cadavieco The PoetBay support member heart!
A child's memory is a mysterious thing, being just flashes like pictires in the mind. Often it is more the distressing moments, while the many, many gentle moments are lost to time.

I remember this prayer, too, but always wondered why I should pity mice in Plicity, and where Plicity was anyway. Was it Mouse Hell? I never thought to ask...
2024-01-21


ken d williams The PoetBay support member heart!
I remember, my father, coming straight to my bedroom. Woke me up. '' Son, your mum, said you asked a question''. Dad proceeded to give answers to my question. Since then I have had a wiser mind.
Ken D.
2024-01-11


jim The PoetBay support member heart!
I reach back, can see, no feel, my mother sitting on the edge of the bed, saying a prayer with me, but what prayer?

Thank you for this. I long for lost memories.
2024-01-10


shells
Weird isn't it, the workings/awakenings of the mind, that transports you back in time and in a good way, something at the time resonated with you, thanks for posting.
2024-01-10


D G Moody
I'm appreciating lately the reflective mood of you poems Allen, and this exemplifies that.
2024-01-10


Ingvar Loco Nordin The PoetBay support member heart!
Wonderful!
2024-01-10