This poem is a new form to me, a Gogyoshi. It is a modern Japanese form, with a title and exactly five free-verse lines. No rhyme schemes, line-length requirements, or syllable counts. The gogyoshi requires a title to frame the meaning.
I wonder, with poems this short, if it doesn’t serve to read it twice, maybe one time out loud. I read it out loud a number of times before it carried exactly what I hungered for.
the over-eighty rat race
required pharmacy stop
rush home to tend the dog
field my specialist's phone calls
breathe in summer sunlight
still, still spread love
Amrita's Witness
To spread love is her calling, not
to defy or deny or rise above her burdens,
but to love, still love, from within and through, the cages of age
and breathe and shine as witness — for us
her tried and burnished love.
(Thank you for the introduction to this form. New to me, but its 'free form' appeals.)
I really like how this form lets the ordinary details carry the whole poem. The rush of errands, the phone calls, and then that beautiful turn toward simply breathing in summer sunlight. “Still, still spread love” gives the piece such quiet strength. Thank you for introducing me to gogyoshi, Didi. ❤️