Fan Letter to Madeleine
When sing the spheres
and planets dance,
I firstly think of you;
then Bach and Einstein
come to mind,
and that is your ‘fault,’ too;
and then the Maker of the stars
reveals the hand that flung them far
and in your words, though time/space-bound,
those stars, that light, embed, abound,
and my heart swells to find them there
in story dressed, arranged with care
for kiddish hearts like mine.
And then my hands begin to move,
my feet begin to step and twine,
my alto warms, I find a groove,
I join the song, the dance, the breath,
converse with you right through poor Death.
(c) Roslynn Pryor
This post is for NaPoWriMo. The A to Z blog challenge takes Sundays off. Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was to write a poem that takes the form of a fan letter.
Pushing the Bruise 
Such a gorgeous poem. I just keep reading git over and over again, not sure which part I like the best. A perfect tribute to her.
Thank you so much! I started my first blog the day after she died. She’s so important to me, like on a DNA level, practically. Thanks for being my first listener on this poem.
Yes, she is important to you. Please tell your DNA, “this is the hour for play,” and report back to me the results.
“Please tell your DNA,” she said,
“this is hour for play.”
DNA replied, “Oh yes, it is,
and thus we shall dance now till break of day;
we shall frolic and sing until dark dawn of day.
Won’t you trip-twist-leap-sway-strut-skip-spin-whirl in our fray?
Won’t you gambol and revel as we dance dark away,
as we revel and rollick, cavort-woo the day?”
Darn, we have an infestation of poets. Get the word swatter.
This is lovely and I think I need to read it at least three more times to fully appreciate just how luscious it is.
Thank you, Denise! It tasted luscious as I spoke it, so it’s really cool to hear that it comes across that way to the reader, too.
You make it seem so easy–I well know it’s not. So beautiful, and a wonderful tribute. It flows with ease, and caresses with grace.
The words, the poem, the muse, the whatever, are all awfully kind and generous with me when I sit and listen, pen in hand. I had to sit with it for a while before the faucet opened up a bit. Thank you for your kind words.
For what it’s worth–I hope you sit and listen, pen and hand, more often. I love your writing, and would read every single word.
The awakening of wonder is lovely. And then you take it up a notch. Wonder twines with joy and becomes a dance and a song.
Are you like Lucy, dancing with Aslan?
You’ve hit it precisely. Frolicking on the green hillside, dancing amidst the stars. Always overlapping between L’Engle and Lewis (and others). Thank you for reading and getting the soul of it.
The artist should never have to “explain” in order for the audience to get the meaning. The fact that I did reflects on the quality of your workmanship, my dear.
Your words are dressed and arranged with care too. This is just beautiful. Every word.
Patience plus pressure–it was finally complete (insofar as any poem is ever complete) at about quarter till midnight. LOL. Darn those deadlines. Thank you for your generous words.
I adore this – such a beautiful and loving tribute to such a wonderful writer. Spirals of wonder and joy – gorgeous!
She is/was SO wonderful. I miss her. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Simply beautiful and such a wonderful tribute.
Thank you, Via. I appreciate your reading and kind commenting.
It’s a pleasure.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, too!
Wow, I really enjoyed the use of words in this poem and the imagery! But I was confused about who Madeleine was, and then when I figured it out I fell in love with it. What a great tribute, so eloquently put.
I was especially intrigued by the last two lines. They brought the thought to mind that by writing, we immortalize a part of ourselves, that can hopefully be an inspiration and blessing to others that we may not even know.
JB, you’re right–I never came straight out and said it was L’Engle, except in the tags. But I figured those who knew her writing would figure out who I was writing to. 🙂 And you’re so right about the function of writing as a preservation of memory and an ongoing conversation! It’s the legacy of writing, the leaving a piece behind. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Love this. Really gets to the mystical heart of writing and reading and our reverence for the writer as co creator.
Yes, Valerie–mystical and co-creative indeed! You get it! Thank you so much for your comment.