[to my sister concerning the social worked, church endorsed, school approved, court ordered removal of us from our grandparents home on June 28, 1968 for the space of one year despite our pleas to the contrary]
[and to my beloved grandparents who raised us and deserved only honor for it: Milton B. and Lucy W. Young...]
lost as we were then in the Marian year
the delphinium blue of it the honeyed nimbus
of our tears so fruitlessly deployed
in going away
the frontyard mimosas waving us on;
dismissed we were then from school and golden rules
and lost as the dreamer is in sudden interruptions
of a dream and unforseen
the lightning strikes the tree
and grandmother weeps on the lawn
and we are gone
and linger there beyond her reach
in chaplets of lace
uncomprehending.
now I know it was no grace
that reft us from home
and that the soul has heart break too
when riven in two
and the summer flowers in the afternoon
will never ever come to bloom
the way they could have then
had we not been forced from our door
from those we loved who loved us more
beyond the realms of two, minus two.
mary angela douglas 8 july 2017
[and to my beloved grandparents who raised us and deserved only honor for it: Milton B. and Lucy W. Young...]
lost as we were then in the Marian year
the delphinium blue of it the honeyed nimbus
of our tears so fruitlessly deployed
in going away
the frontyard mimosas waving us on;
dismissed we were then from school and golden rules
and lost as the dreamer is in sudden interruptions
of a dream and unforseen
the lightning strikes the tree
and grandmother weeps on the lawn
and we are gone
and linger there beyond her reach
in chaplets of lace
uncomprehending.
now I know it was no grace
that reft us from home
and that the soul has heart break too
when riven in two
and the summer flowers in the afternoon
will never ever come to bloom
the way they could have then
had we not been forced from our door
from those we loved who loved us more
beyond the realms of two, minus two.
mary angela douglas 8 july 2017
