her ritual

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

they need balloons
in heaven
she says

& every year

on her mother’s birthday

she buys a dozen
red ones
& looses their ribbons
all at once

watching
until sky
swallows all that

redness
she calls remembering

& I call love

About Susan L Daniels

I am a firm believer that politics are personal, that faith is expressed through action, and that life is something that must be loved and lived authentically--or why bother with any of it?

View all posts by Susan L Daniels →

This entry was posted in New Free Verse and tagged balloons, loss, love, mother, poetry, red balloons. Bookmark the permalink.

22 Responses to her ritual

Noel Ihebuzor says:

August 10, 2012 at 5:47 pm

Acts of love so beautifully described!
- Susan L Daniels says:
  
  August 10, 2012 at 5:51 pm
  
  Thank you. I thought it was a wonderful thing to do.
Rhonda says:

August 10, 2012 at 5:50 pm

Beautiful
- Susan L Daniels says:
  
  August 10, 2012 at 5:52 pm
  
  THanks, SFAM. I think I will have to copy this in March, for my mom. 🙂
  - Rhonda says:
    
    August 10, 2012 at 5:53 pm
    
    definitely
George Ellington says:

August 10, 2012 at 11:13 pm

So very sweet, so touching. Thank you for sharing this, Susan.
- Susan L Daniels says:
  
  August 10, 2012 at 11:20 pm
  
  Thanks, George. When a friend told me she does this every year, it seemed like such a wonderful way of remembering her mother.
Pawan Hira says:

August 11, 2012 at 3:47 am

It is beautiful, Susan. It connects universally, touching indeed. 🙂
Green Speck says:

August 11, 2012 at 7:53 am

Really beautiful lines … loved it 🙂
Susan L Daniels says:

August 11, 2012 at 8:40 am

Thanks, you two!
Mari Sanchez Cayuso says:

August 11, 2012 at 11:54 am

redness pounds, it beats within ME as I read this.
amazing, this language of yours!
- Susan L Daniels says:
  
  August 11, 2012 at 12:19 pm
  
  Awww, thank you, Mari!
nelle says:

August 11, 2012 at 11:02 pm

Long day ends with a smile. 🙂
- Susan L Daniels says:
  
  August 12, 2012 at 1:00 am
  
  Thanks, Nelle. Has been a long day…
Jeremy Nathan Marks says:

August 12, 2012 at 9:27 am

This a gentle and touching. And for some reasons makes me think of a French film with its quiet, poignant gestures.
- Susan L Daniels says:
  
  August 12, 2012 at 9:32 am
  
  Thank you! You know what? It DOES kind of have that feel to it 🙂
  - Jeremy Nathan Marks says:
    
    August 12, 2012 at 9:33 am
    
    A little like “The Little Red Balloon.”
    - Susan L Daniels says:
      
      August 12, 2012 at 9:35 am
      
      Yes–a little. Used to watch that movie once a year in elementary school, if we are thinking of the same one…
      - Jeremy Nathan Marks says:
        
        August 12, 2012 at 9:38 am
        
        We are. It’s the quiet gestures of the poem (and in that film) which come to mind. I realize the sentiments are different. But there is a beauty to children with balloons that always speaks to me and the way balloons can symbolize hope or be an instrument of it.
        
        Susan L Daniels says:
        
        August 12, 2012 at 9:44 am
        
        You are spot on again, as usual. I could see the common thread as soon as you mentioned the movie.
readinpleasure says:

August 14, 2012 at 11:03 am

Ow sweet!
- Susan L Daniels says:
  
  August 14, 2012 at 11:17 am
  
  Thank you–going to do this next spring!