When I was looking up Marie-Elizabeth Mali's info so I could ask her permission to post this poem, I discovered that she is married to another poet I like: Taylor Mali. What a nice coincidence!
Oceanside, CA
by Marie-Elizabeth Mali
Balancing on crutches in the shallows
near her mother, a girl missing her right lower leg
swings her body and falls, laughing.
Behind them, her father and brother play catch.
Up the beach, the incoming tide nibbles
a sleeping woman, another beer is opened.
A young veteran walks by with a high and tight
buzz cut and Semper Fi shoulder tattoo, his right leg
a prosthesis to mid-thigh. He approaches
the family, removes the prosthesis, and joins
the girl in the water. They lift shorn legs high
and smack them down. No one talks about the war.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted with permission of the poet.
Here's a poem I shared by Mr. Mali.
Jone at Check It Out has our Poetry Friday round-up.
9 comments:
Lovely, lovely photograph! I enjoy going to the beach mainly to take pictures, always hoping I'd capture a bunch of crashing waves. I've been to Oceanside once, and it's beautiful out there. I enjoyed that peaceful evening walk by the pier. Thanks for sharing that beautiful and endearing poem! :)
Wow - so much packed in a small space here today, Tabatha! I immediately dove into that gorgeous photo, was happy to learn a little poet-info, and then the poem - talk about setting a scene. What a beautiful moment caught and shared. Thanks!
When we venture out into life, we don't know what stories we will find, do we? I didn't know Taylor Mali's wife was a poet, so thank you for showing us her work. It's startling, yet somehow satisfying too, Tabatha. All those scenes surround the main cast create the place beautifully. The photo is amazing.
Beautiful! I love the calm, happy scene, in spite of everything, and that last line.
Wow! so much in that little poem. such a full, rich scene.
A double-poet Mali family. Wow.
Maybe if your body is different than the norm, you should be able to believe that you are perfect just the way you are. But in reality, sometimes the best thing of all is when there is one other person who's got the same condition, and you don't have to talk about it, you can just be you.
That is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing it!
What an articulate couple! I read Mr. Mali's linked poem as well. His thought reminds me of the Canadianism--a manner of speech that ends too many statements with "eh?"
What a powerful, sweet poem. That last sentence is wow.
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