No Word for Enchantment
by Tina Barry
My aunt no longer recalls the word pond
smelling of frilled fern
She would not recognize a reflection
Her own in water
Opal face
fanned lashes on rouged cheek
a glamorous sea creature
in violet perfume
At the pond, I skipped a stone
that pinged against a frog's face,
She can no longer recall its slow eyes,
Gone is the word
for enchantment
She who walked a city block in seconds
Cashmere-covered elbows a blur of purpose
Waits for the scratchy, long-distance voice of a mother
Gone 50 years
Imagines:
her husband, whose mouth she's kissed 10 million times--
a burgler, the postman, and, last Saturday
Simone Signoret
Told stories of a Parisian childhood:
amber ablaze in a dollhouse bedroom
poodles' nails clicking pavement
pale garters hoisting seamed stockings
bad shrimp in Provence
Asks:
Why haven't you bought me a small black dog?
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Author's Note
No Word... is published in THIS magazine's Jan/Feb issue. Theme: "Other." Thanks Joani and Bill!
Other stories by Tina Barry
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Tina,
Such lovely lines in this elegy, and the sad, haunting essence simmers throughout in your lovely imagery. Relatable, and so, so poignant.
Fave.
Thanks, Robert. I appreciate the kind words and the star!
The poem skips like its thrown stone, hitting off sensory, sonorous facets and facts, creating the enchantment this dear aunt is now missing...along with her sense of a self, (and that death is awful, as its victim is still alive), and the poem gets that...but I think it's the "word" that's gone here and you offer up the hope that the elements of enchantent still exist for her-in fragments and bits and questions and detached memories, but still there n her.
"...violet perfume.." is lovely in this context, and "ping" is a delightfully right choice.
Moving.
Fave.
Thank you so much, James, for the close reading. You understand the poem and my intentions. Much appreciated. And thanks for the star!
Tina: Loved it for THIS and love it still. Good work.*
Well done, Tina. It conjured up a sadness in me, remembering older relatives slowly erased by Alzheimer's. What a poignant tribute.
Thanks so much Joanie and Joe. Your comments are appreciated!
Yeah, what James said above.
Elegant, moving, beautiful.
Love that a poem about loss is called 'Enchantment" - makes it a tribute, a celebration and transposes this beauty against the pain. Nicely balanced.
Thank you for the kind words, Sally, and the star.
We're very pleased to have this in THIS. Thanks for entrusting it to us, Tina.
*
Thanks for publishing the poem, Bill, and for your kind support.