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Friday, 8 March 2019

A SWAN IS LIKE A SOFT FLUFFY PILLOW

I saw a swan sip the river today 
And I worried about plastic.
I was relieved when I saw the bread
Someone had flung over, enthusiastic.

I saw a counsellor today. 
Except he turned out not to be one. 
I am a psychiatric nurse, he said,
And you are not a problem. 

My kind of problem, he meant, 
and he meant it kindly.
No suicide for him that day,
And he was surely glad of it.

But I had been longing for a place to grieve, 
To weep my river of sorrows.
Instead I walked to the graveyard,
And paused beside the bridge;

 I watched the swan sip, 
And sunlight dip,
On the swan’s soft fluffy pillow.
And I tucked my tears up, under. 

©Shaista Tayabali, 2019



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10 comments:

  1. Sherry Blue Sky8 March 2019 at 04:16

    I adore this poem for so many reasons. The swans, the needing a place to grieve, tucking the tears up, under. In my old age, i seem to have a river of tears on tap......yet we put on our smiles for the public, not to alarm them. Beautiful, Shaista. Seeing swans, such a blessing. My son once said "to understand a swan, you have to learn how to cry."

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    1. Shaista11 March 2019 at 15:15

      Your son said that? I wonder when that line came to him... that’s exactly how it felt to me ... although maybe the swan thinks, ‘To be a swan is to understand why humans cry’...

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  2. Frank Hubeny8 March 2019 at 04:27

    Nice ending tucking the tears into the soft swan.

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  3. brudberg9 March 2019 at 16:50

    I love how the swan gave you a better comfort than the hospital.

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    1. Shaista11 March 2019 at 15:12

      They did, they really did. I felt sure that particular swan, who came closest, was talking to me with his wagging tail! And he was certainly listening ... he did better with the listening than the two men - although the men were kind enough... just on a timer like all of us are on the NHS ... kindness on a timer :)

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  4. indybev9 March 2019 at 23:09

    Perhaps it is that a visit to nature does more good than a visit to a therapist? Something to think about. Plaintive poem.

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    1. Shaista11 March 2019 at 15:10

      I think you may be right ... so I am attempting walks every day ... even if just briefly... the changing seasons are quite subtle sometimes ... but something new reflects our changing moods. And our capacity for change is important to acknowledge isn’t it?

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  5. Sanaa Rizvi10 March 2019 at 16:34

    Beautifully poignant ❤️

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