This time when he proposed, the answer was no.

No courthouse wedding and

honeymoon in Mexico;

no house in the suburbs,

no little girl with dark, curly hair.

And so, my homeless soul hovered

elsewhere

and waited to be wanted.

19 responses to “1959”

  1. Gospel Isosceles Avatar

    The mercurial nature of reality and the possible infinite parallel universes… Your poem is wistful looking at a life that will never be born but in your mind. I think of a time my then-partner proposed at a rainbow gathering in New Mexico, and the sad history of us left there in that meadow when I realized it would never be.

    1. The Abject Muse Avatar

      How very sad about the rainbow gathering. Thank you for sharing your insights. Interesting!

  2. lynn__ Avatar

    Sometimes we must say “no”…a soulful write.

    1. The Abject Muse Avatar

      This is true. If we said “yes” to everything…imagine? oy!

      1. lynn__ Avatar

        A “no” to something may mean “yes” to something better!

    2. The Abject Muse Avatar

      Thank you, lynn_ :-)

  3. Glenn A. Buttkus Avatar
    Glenn A. Buttkus

    Yes, fractal art is wonderful; often I use fractal or abstract images to illustrate my poems. Saying no is a special kind of courage. In your case, it seems, no meant no.

  4. Both of us can't look good...it's either me or the house Avatar

    This left me sad and yet it’s carefulness made me smile.

  5. Linda Lee Lyberg Avatar

    This is really beautiful and complex. Like the art.

  6. msjadeli Avatar

    Susan, I like the graphic you chose to represent the beautiful soul waiting <3

    1. The Abject Muse Avatar

      Thank you, Lisa. I love fractal art. :-)

      1. msjadeli Avatar

        You’re welcome :) Fractals do seem to be otherwordly.

  7. fireblossom32 Avatar
    fireblossom32

    Oh gosh, I’m feeling like I just flashed back into my own 20’s. Really perfect stuff, ma’am.

    1. The Abject Muse Avatar

      Thank you, fireblossom32. So glad you enjoyed!

  8. sarahsouthwest Avatar

    This poem appears so simple, but it has great complexity hovering around it. Full of loss.

    1. The Abject Muse Avatar

      You nailed it, sarahssouthwest. Loss is the name of the game.

  9. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) Avatar

    This sounds like one of those things that never happened… life is so full of those moments that could have been

    1. The Abject Muse Avatar

      Yes, and also those moments that shouldn’t have been.

Whatcha think?