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Laure-Anne Bosselaar: Infinitives

To love, still, that red & blue polka-dotted box 
bought from a Russian rummage store in New York. 

To dust it — not often enough. To stare at it — too often.
To never open it anymore. Keep his ashes hidden. 

To rub my ears with my fists to hear anything else than
absence in our house. 

To open again books we loved & read again the pages he 
had earmarked. 

To love what’s left — now that he left: poems & their eloquence 
of leaving things unsaid.

--

Copyright 2022 Laure-Anne Bosselaar. First published in Cavewall number 17.
  
Laure-Anne Bosselaar's many books include These Many Rooms published by 
Four Way Books.  

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15 comments on “Laure-Anne Bosselaar: Infinitives

  1. Carlene M. Gadapee
    September 2, 2024
    Carlene M. Gadapee's avatar

    O my. Quiet grief. What a beautiful poem.

    Like

  2. Susan Berlin
    May 18, 2024
    Susan Berlin's avatar

    There you go again, Laure-Anne, breaking my heart!

    Like

  3. Lisa Zimmerman
    September 22, 2022
    Lisa Zimmerman's avatar

    Lovely even in its sorrow.❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Gerald Fleming
    September 20, 2022
    Gerald Fleming's avatar

    Laure

    Like

  5. Gerald Fleming
    September 20, 2022
    Gerald Fleming's avatar

    Such a wonderful example of how a poem–short as Laura’s is!–can encompass both the personal and universal, can encompass worlds/lifetimes of love.

    Like

  6. Jane Adair
    September 19, 2022
    Jane Adair's avatar

    A stunning poem, Laure-Anne.

    Like

  7. Susie Cronin
    September 19, 2022
    Susie Cronin's avatar

    Such a beautiful and heart-rending poem.

    “To love what’s left – now that he left”

    (Somehow this must have crept into my subconscious for my book title….)

    And the most powerful of all : “of leaving things unsaid.”

    You so know how to show not tell… to get to that deeper level of absence.

    This terrible loss has both robbed you and enriched you.

    You are so amazing. And I love you! Moi

    http://www.susanreadcronin.com/

    >

    Like

  8. John Balaban
    September 19, 2022
    John Balaban's avatar

    Sweet and sad, bringing up a good memory I have of Kurt.

    Like

  9. Sean Sexton
    September 19, 2022
    Sean Sexton's avatar

    In my journal today I’ve written: Time takes so long—is gone by so fast. How do we live between these two?
    Laurie: I think you’re superb.

    Like

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This entry was posted on September 19, 2022 by in Most Popular, Poetry and tagged , , .

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