More Than His Memory, dVerse Poets

35 Replies


More Than His Memory

More than his memory, it was his scent that awakened me to the full moon scrimmed by clouds. I moved to the sliding doors and out to the jacuzzi. Who else in this world would float on the surface of the water under this remarkable moon? The curious cat came to bear company, and the dogs. One hummingbird whirred incongruous over blooms in the night. This pulse in my ear of hummingbird and blood drew one mosquito into its chorus, annoying and persistent, to drive me into the water as easily as his scent had pulled me out of my shell of troubling dreams into the glowing night. A hand smoothed a path in the water, as if to welcome me. “If you are a dreamer, come in,” he said.

 

 

The prompt was to use the line “If you are a dreamer, come in,” in a story with a beginning, middle and end that was under 144 words. For dVerse Poets.

35 thoughts on “More Than His Memory, dVerse Poets”

      1. ben Alexander

        Judy,

        Please feel free to call me ‘David’. The word ‘ben’ in Hebrew just means ‘son of’, and my father’s name was ‘Alexander’ 🙂

        I know my pen name is confusing – sorry!

        ❤
        David

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            1. lifelessons Post author

              And I just looked it up. He was a Sufi Mystic..therefore Arab, not Jewish. It is a famous poem by Leigh Hunt. You should be able to find it on Google. “Human being” would be perfect for the message of the poem.

              Liked by 1 person

        2. lifelessons Post author

          Ha.. I actually remember making this comment and addressing it to “David,” then checking your blog and changing it to “Ben” and wondering where I got the David from. Now I know.

          Liked by 1 person

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  6. lifelessons Post author

    Abou Ben Adhem
    BY LEIGH HUNT
    Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
    Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
    And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
    Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
    An angel writing in a book of gold:—
    Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
    And to the presence in the room he said,
    “What writest thou?”—The vision raised its head,
    And with a look made of all sweet accord,
    Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”
    “And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”
    Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
    But cheerly still; and said, “I pray thee, then,
    Write me as one that loves his fellow men.”

    The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
    It came again with a great wakening light,
    And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
    And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.

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  8. kim881

    This is such an atmospheric piece, Judy! I love the ‘full moon scrimmed by clouds’, the curious cat, and the hummingbird that ‘whirred incongruous over blooms in the night’. A romantic fantasy or a real event?

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. lifelessons Post author

    A real event, remembered clearly because I wrote a poem about it the night it happened over 19 years ago, shortly after my husband died. I mined it for these details.

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  11. lillian

    You had me with the first line and the use of the word “scrim” – one of my most favorite words and the image it brings to mind. More than a memory….a scent that called to you. And then the wonderful details of the hummingbird, the remarkable moon, the curious cat, the dogs…and that mosquito. The image too is enchanting.

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  12. Doug Jacquier

    Always a delight to read a piece from someone who knows how to write beautifully and one which doesn’t include faeries, hobgoblins and banal Hallmark sentiments. Well done.

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  14. kim881

    Hi Judy! I think you’ve linked up your Prosery piece to the Poetics prompt instead of your poem. I’ll remove it from the Poetics Linky and look forward to reading your poem when you link it up.

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