An assignment for one of my classes was to write a poem in the style of the poet, Sarah Riggs. Her work is beautiful and playful and smart and beautiful (because it is). This was also inspired by the play, ESPERANZA MEANS HOPE, because she’s calling out to me again. It felt good to write verse with an arc and structure.
Hi Life, Love, Me
A poem inspired by the poetry of Sarah Riggs
Once upon a stone
Hard, stoic, uncompromising
He stood.
Tall as a tree, with his pointed branches and
Snide remarks reaching out to me.
Again.
Verbal lashes strike while tears are shed upon the
Rack of tattered clothes, weathered dreams and
Faded Polaroids. Shaken to the point of
Non-existence. Our. Love. Gone.
Swollen eyes slowly open to see the light.
Snow White. Grumpy. Sleepy. Dopey.
With each pill popped trying to find
Happy.
A lifeline. A Rope thown overboard.
Hand reaches through a current of sorrow
Created by salt watered storms that used to
See the sun, the trees, a hand and a smile.
Groups of words, laughter, and support
Sit in a circle encompassing a new direction
For a new life which
I would have never found alone.
The cycle stopped started with
A call for help led step move forward
Through time into living each minute for a
Second chance.
And now, I sit here
Staring at the pen which has filled an envelope with a note:
Hi Life,
Love,
Me.