a poem and its genesis…

By John Blase | January 6, 2012 |
I never know what’s going to remind me of you. This
morning it was hearing Moonglow, that unforgettable
lilt shuffling up the image of you standing at the kitchen
sink washing dishes after supper, a childhood icon, the
backside of my god. I rarely if ever knew your ways but
your presence was the promise made that held fast.
✠
My children see like glory each evening as I serve love’s
memory by standing at the cleft of a kitchen sink rinsing
the plates of children you call grand. They imagine my
face and talk to my back as I hum handsome tunes over
my aging shoulders just like you used to do and they,
as I, picnic on mercy and compassion, and live.
 

How is a poem born? Here’s the genesis of the one above…all of these thoughts flirted with one another in the course of about three minutes. I listen to an oldies station on the morning commute and ‘Moonglow’ came on. If that tune-name doesn’t ring a bell, find it on YouTube; trust me, its familiar. As I listened my thoughts turned to my Dad and how he always washed the dishes after supper so that as we sat at the table we would talk to his back – make sense? Then the story from Exodus 33 dings me in the head, the one where Moses is told if he sees God’s face he would die, but if he stands in the cleft of the rock he can see God’s backside or back parts, and live. And then suddenly I’m aware that I give my wife a break most evenings and wash the dishes, just like my Dad, and I’m also suddenly aware that my children are seeing and talking to my back, and history is repeating itself, the play goes on. I got to work, jotted down these thoughts in my seed book, and allowed them to get-it-on throughout the day. Late last night I was struggling with the verb in that last line and I remembered that the song ‘Moonglow’ is also a movie theme, the theme from the film Picnic. It seemed a fitting wrap. So I wrote it as an address to my Dad, cut the cord, and there it is.

I believe poetry is the servant of memory and it answers the question – what do you see when you remember? You can obviously remember the past, but you can also remember the present and the future…such is the catch-your-heart-off-guard thrill of a poem.

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13 Comments

  1. pottersinn on January 6, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    Nice!

    Reply
  2. Leah Downs on January 6, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    “to picnic on mercy and compassion”–great verb-the whole line conveys heaps of meaning in few words. Right up there with “vulgar grace,” a 2011 phrase from Manning I’ll be using well, forever I’d guess. Your picnic line (in addition to live!live!live!) will be a life phrase I’ll remember from 2012, but it’s only Jan 6; Pace yourself with the nuggets, or I’ll need to begin a list!

    Reply
    • thebeautifuldue on January 6, 2012 at 4:21 pm

      Leah, may your 2012 be a picnic…thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Reply
  3. L.L. Barkat on January 6, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    “such is the catch-your-heart-off-guard thrill of a poem”

    oh yes 🙂

    Reply
  4. Brian on January 7, 2012 at 1:20 pm

    I love your poems, John, and I appreciate the passion you have for your craft. Thanks for a look inside your creative process.

    Reply
    • thebeautifuldue on January 7, 2012 at 2:33 pm

      Thanks, Brian…hope all your family is doing well so far this year!

      Reply
  5. David Blase on January 7, 2012 at 2:37 pm

    Thanks, John! I got up soon after midnite and placed a birthday card on your mother’s desk and thought of the ‘picnic’ we have enjoyed for these almost 49 years..
    Dad

    Reply
  6. Sandi on January 7, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    Thank you, John. This is very helpful for one such as I …unskilled in such crafts.

    Reply
    • thebeautifuldue on January 7, 2012 at 9:31 pm

      Sandy, I’m not sure its skill so much as lunacy…but its fun.

      Reply
  7. Laura on January 14, 2012 at 7:22 am

    Your writing is a highlight in my RSS reader. I love the way your words always remind me to slow down, to stop, to really read, to breathe…
    This poem made me smile as well – reminding me of all the back’s I’ve had great conversations with… aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents… hanging out around the kitchen sink after family gatherings and Easter dinner.
    Your thoughts on the genesis of this were an additional treat. Thank you for sharing with us.

    Reply
    • thebeautifuldue on January 14, 2012 at 1:44 pm

      My pleasure, Laura…thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Reply

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