~John Burnham Schwartz
photo courtesy Ruth Hersey
I received a slice-of-life poem from Ruth Hersey, accompanied by wonderful photos of the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Florida. As someone whose eyesight is underwater-esque without my glasses, I can sympathize with this situation:
Lost and Found
by Ruth Bowen Hersey
On Wednesday the ocean took my glasses
After it pounded me on the sand
And left me gasping,
My knees bleeding.
I emerged newborn from the water
Like Aphrodite, but blinking near-sightedly
And clothed in a stripy bathing suit.
On Thursday I lived in a blur
As though still under the waves;
Life around me went on
In an impressionistic haze
While I strained to exist.
On Friday I found new eyes
At Eyeglass World,
Rediscovered borders and outlines.
Alive, I walked in the botanical garden
And drank in color and detail with my camera,
Consuming orchids and ferns,
Caladiums and birds of paradise.
Greedily seeing, seeing, seeing.
Photos courtesy Ruth Hersey, whose blog I always love to visit for poems, inspiration, wisdom, and beautiful photos!
Reading to the Core has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Catherine!
Addendum: Kat and Ruth are sharing poems I gave them for the swap.
12 comments:
Oh, how we take good eyesight for granted! Now I can barely read the fine print (that's any print!) on food packaging. And certainly not in the morning... A relatable, well-constructed poem!
Oh I can so relate! The days when I could live without my glasses have well and truly passed, and I am off to update mine on Monday, so this was very timely. I especially loved: " I found new eyes
At Eyeglass World"
Thanks for sharing Ruth's cleverness, Tabatha.
Just had my yearly eye exam yesterday, so I can relate to the temporary blurriness (from the dilation). Thank goodness for the technology of lenses!!
Lovely poem and photos. Thank God for corrective lenses :)
I read this and feel thankful for my eyesight, wishing people who need them can receive glasses all over the world. It's a poem that tells truth, isn't it? Love the pictures, too!
I can relate to this as my eye trouble has continued. What a blurry world it can be.
A trip to a garden is definite must-do when you have new eyes! Beautiful pictures.
I live just a few miles from Marie Selby Botanical Gardens! That is so neat. I really enjoyed reading Ruth's poem, and I love the image she conjures as the waves hit her and then emerging newborn. Thanks for sharing!
I love Ruth's poem, and can savor her stunning photos thanks to my glasses! Being without them is unimaginable to me! Thank you for sharing!
Oh, my gosh....how can something written so beautifully make me laugh out loud like this? Funny but also a great poem. Way to go, Ruth! I'm the same way without my glasses.
I love the line "greedily seeing, seeing, seeing." I understand that feeling. The photos are beautiful. Thanks for hosting this swap each summer. It's so full pf joy!
Wow–where would we be without our glasses. Love Ruth's matter-of-fact poem of this dreaded happening, and so happy she "found new eyes" and shared these gorgeous images. Thanks for sharing all with us Tabatha and for providing us all with the summer swap!
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