Blur
The seconds tick, the minutes race,
__The hours fly,
__The days flash by,
The weeks go at a breakneck pace—
__I wonder why
__I even try;
The months, the years, the decades pass,
__All I’ve pursued
__Becomes worm food;
I strive to do it all—alas—
__I’m left to brood
__On finitude.
Son and Moon
The door creaked open, and my son
popped softly in, reminding me
what I should do ere day was done:
that supermoon I had to see.
“Did you go look,” I asked, “and did
you see it?” “Yeah, I went just now.
It’s big, and super bright,” he said,
“Not blue—but worth it anyhow.”
I left his sleeping siblings’ room,
went down the stairs and to our yard,
where high above, that dazzling moon
shone down and left me blinking hard—
__not merely ‘cause its beauty would compel me,
__but more because my son had thought to tell me.
Unfinished Business
One more load of laundry
one more stack of plates
one more meal to cook
one more bed to make;
Fold and store the clothing,
set the table, then
clear more dirty dishes,
soon it’s off to bed;
Put on my pajamas—
now more dirty clothes
waiting for tomorrow,
making one more load.
Sometimes I’m frustrated
things are never done—
get one task completed,
there’s another one…
But life is unfinished business—
just look at the plants and trees,
as they endlessly cycle through seasons,
growing and losing their leaves;
And so much of life is doing—
just look at the bees and ants,
busily bearing their cargo
as long as they have the chance.
Life is moving and growing,
we earn and then we spend;
while about the business of living,
we don’t want to hear “the end.”
So I smile at the piles of laundry
as within me I softly pray,
“Thank You, Lord, for unfinished business,
And for giving me one more day.”
A Pennsylvania native now residing in Colorado, Anna J. Arredondo is an engineer by education, a home educator by choice, and by preference, a poet. She also has poems published (or forthcoming) in The Lyric, Time of Singing, Light, Blue Unicorn, Better Than Starbucks, and WestWard Quarterly.
Tempus fugit! These poems have a wonderful feel of Wisdom literature underpinning them, and the brooding on finitude is a vitally important role for the poet – helping us, the readers, thereby to come to terms with the conditions of life. Very skilfully written – I enjoyed these a lot.
Anna, these three poems say so much about life. The first one about time flying is one we all feel later in life. The second and third poems are about the rewards of family love and the essential chores that are our own tales of love and care.
“Son and Moon” reminded me of one of the greatest movies of all time — Cher’s “Moonstruck.”
Blue moons are not actually blue, but simply very big and bright. Their appearance is infrequent, but can be astronomically predicted
I enjoyed all three.
All three poems are perfectly titled and very interesting to read, more than once so that the full messages can sink in. I loved all of them.
Lovely poems, Anna, especially “Son and Moon” because
of its beautiful, heartfelt conclusion. There is wisdom in all three.
Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. I’ve been stuck in a long poetic drought, and trying to get back into it!
Good collection, Anna, suggesting reasons for the poetic drought. When “Blur” features “brood” as it proceeds to the poem’s end, I hear children in the blurry background. “Son and Moon,” though, goes on to show how the brood can be the source of enlivening and enlightening experience. Not necessarily an experience of completed artistic creations! The long laundry poem makes creative use of what may seem the most tedious of domestic duties. Your final gratitude for time and the mission of “Unfinished Business” actually expands the theme into appreciation for whatever life sends, regardless of a person’s occupation. May you have more of your preference for poetry in time upcoming!
It is good to have Arredondo back. She is the very bread and butter of nourishing poetic fare.
All of these are wonderful, Anna. The theme of time has always intrigued me. I love the appropriately short lines of “Blur”; the poignancy of “Son and Moon”; and the wise conclusion of the poet in “Unfinished Business “. Like C.B, I was glad to see you back as soon as I saw your name.
Anna, it’s always lovely to see a poem from you and I very much hope new poems are soon flowing copiously from your aesthetic well. I love all of these – “Blur” and “Unfinished” capture the passing of time perfectly and with such wisdom, but it is “Son and Moon” that has stolen my heart. What is this life if full of care we have no time to stop and stare at the wonders a son brings to his mom’s attention – beauty is enjoyed all the more when its light is shared with love. Heart-touchingly glorious!
The older you get, the blurrier it becomes, Anna! A poignant piece.
Living in a dusty, desert country, I think I’ve come to terms with the feeling that many jobs are never done (like sweeping the house). In an episode of Criminal Minds, one of the head honchos said that the term ‘going postal’ comes from the fact that postmen sort out the letters for their round, deliver them and next morning start up all over again – the job is never completed.
Thanks for the reads.