Patricia Asuncion’s most recent poem to appear here was “Pixels” (July 2018).
Extant
By Patricia Asuncion
With breathless heaviness
leaves surrender
to sudden drop
in pressure before the storm.
Flying in all directions,
startled thoughts
skitter to brittle branches
that might not
hold their weight.
Turbulent blows suddenly
percuss across the trunk,
now vulnerable to whirling
debris. In a downpour,
harsh and heavy,
disappointments rain,
destroying old confidences.
Battered limbs drop, leaving
piles of muddy confusion.
Each storm she
survives the abuse,
rooted in silence.
Wow. Patsy, this is visceral.
My favorite line
“now vulnerable to whirling”
aren’t we all?
Very familiar here on the East coast.
You have a magnificent way with words. I am proud of all your accomplishments over these 54 years of friendship. You have done so much and given so much of yourself as a friend, mother, wife, poet, teacher, principal, actress. Love you. Sharon