dverse
her sadness was so palpable
it could fill a room
and saturate the wall with tears
they said
there was no way out for her
she grabbed
the only piece of rotten driftwood
floating by
when she was drowning
knowing
it would only keep her afloat
for a while before
he would take a mistress
and another
and yet another
everything was against her
the times her gender her class
her religion her melancholia
her inability to accept
her role as an underling
a wife of the times
she fought like a tiger
and burnt the house down
they said she was mad
i don't think so
her sadness left its imprint on
her children and their descendants
to this day they carry it
like the cross on a donkey's back
probably in another time she would've had better chances... what a sad story
ReplyDeleteVery powerful. I could feel her pain deeply. And so true that such sadness cannot help leave its mark on the next generation.
ReplyDeletea harsh life to grow up with expectations to be an underling to a domineering womanizer.. what's really mad you might ask.
ReplyDeleteSuch deep sadness is indeed carried from generation to generation - as are other tendencies. These days they are much better understood and there is more understanding. I have in mind Mrs Rochester in Jane Eyre as i write...
ReplyDeleteThe pain and hurt are very tangible in your words, Cressida. Interesting also that you could know this about this ancestor as this kind of knowledge is sometimes swept under the carpet.
ReplyDelete"like the cross on a donkey's back". She lived through sad, hard times for women. And it's true it does impact later generations. Sad story so well told.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, what a family tragedy ~ But good for her to fight back with all that she got ~ In another lifetime she would have had other options ~ That ending verse will stay with me ~ Thanks for sharing ~
ReplyDeleteA sad story.
ReplyDeleteOuch..reminds me of the geishas in the Red Lanterns movie....nothing good to come to them in their lives when treated like waste....very heartfelt write Cressida.
ReplyDeleteI see the pain and sadness i this story. You have captured it so well Cressida, very well done.
ReplyDeletepain vibrates in you words..a good narration:)
ReplyDeleteSuch an intense portrait... you make us see and feel her. It's sad life but I am glad she fought. Such a moving poem that etches into the heart. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteI love the myth-like tone you use--especially the opening and closing stanzas--stunning.
ReplyDeleteso much sadness.....and that too flowed on to the next generations ....this is truly tragic.......
ReplyDeletebeautifully penned Cressida..
palpable ~
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI don't think we've ever known how to deal with people who are in that space.