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‘Fragility’ Appears in 2River View’s Winter 2014 (18.2) Issue

by bribruceproductions

FRAGILITY

From my mother
I learned how wine swims in the vein,
what happens when the vaquita dies,
how to boil meat from bone
to make chicken soup.
Like her, often I am stirred from sleep
by thought, not dream.
A frenzied rap at the thin door a beckon
to follow her into the summer garden,
we listen to the birds—
nighthawk in the oak,
mockingbird in the underbrush.
We busy ourselves wondering what dark place
becomes the bed of the crow.

In these moments,
we are suddenly aware that our hearts are beating—
there is something larger than ourselves.
And knowing the fragility of it all,
we speak the language of mortality.

To hear an audio recording of me reading the poem, click here!

Published by the 2River View, Winter 2014 18.2 Issue
c. Bri Bruce, 2013

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49 thoughts on “‘Fragility’ Appears in 2River View’s Winter 2014 (18.2) Issue”

  2. “there is something larger than ourselves”…love that line after the recognition that we are mortals with biological hearts that have a finite number of beats.

    Reply

  6. We are only a grain of sand in the universe but possess a heart that listens and cares.
    Yes, the harshest events in life are spurs to self-discovery
    I love the reading.

    Reply
  8. Pingback: Voices from the Blogosphere | MoWriting: My shameful love affair with words

  9. I enjoyed this – I spent many hours observing nature with my own mother, who died 14 years ago. I suppose she started it all, or at the least, she was a powerful influence encouraging my ability to watch and wonder outdoors.

    Reply

  13. Wow Bri – came browsing after you followed my blog and I like what I see and read. I love the connections that humans can make over something small and this poem echoes for me … well done. Please let me know what it was in my blog that made you follow?

    Reply

    1. Hi Grace,
      Thank you for the kind words! If you enjoy some of my posts, I encourage you to keep an eye out for the release of my book on February 1st. I followed you because you blogged about climate change. I’m doing some promotional work with an author for his book about climate change and how the state of our planet is surpassing our dystopian fantasies as portrayed in movies and literature. See my most recent blog post for reference. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  14. I like this poem. Nice work. Your cover designs are great too. Do you create a pdf file that can be used digitally as well as for print? Thanks for the follow. Hope you enjoy my posts.

    Reply

    1. Hi, Laura. Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by to check things out. If you’ve enjoyed the poems I’ve posted, I encourage you to keep an eye out for my new book, coming February 1st!

      Reply

  15. This is a gorgeous poem! Speaking the language of mortality – love that 🙂

    I appreciate you following my blog, as it gave me the opportunity to read your work as well. Have a beautiful day!

    Reply

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