In memory of Ruth Gilmore Ambrose
Athens, Georgia
August 20, 2013; revised December 20, 2014
It was the church bells
from just past Five Points
as late afternoons lingered
on the cusp of evening, ringing
family home in those happy years
Till one by one we left.
But ah, to rise to distant cause,
discover wings of light and gauze
like tiny Monarchs born to fall
who feel the ache of far away,
forsake the fields of yesterday
To take the wind and open skies.
It is an odd quintessence –
the noble hyperbole, glorious lies
and naïve dreams of youthful tribes
that glide above the weathered lives
of mothers watching offspring part
As bells toll love and ancient loss.
What comes of cocoons came
over her heart as dusk by dark
the shadows crept to Gospel
chimes and childhood rhymes,
the sweet debris of golden times
In mommy’s world now left behind.
Home turns refuge, safehouse,
cell when trapped inside that cozy shell,
but motherlove may self-transcend, new
causes and callings now coursing within,
a spirit soars to greet its dreams.
Your love redeems the churchly bells.
from just past Five Points
as late afternoons lingered
on the cusp of evening, ringing
family home in those happy years
Till one by one we left.
But ah, to rise to distant cause,
discover wings of light and gauze
like tiny Monarchs born to fall
who feel the ache of far away,
forsake the fields of yesterday
To take the wind and open skies.
It is an odd quintessence –
the noble hyperbole, glorious lies
and naïve dreams of youthful tribes
that glide above the weathered lives
of mothers watching offspring part
As bells toll love and ancient loss.
What comes of cocoons came
over her heart as dusk by dark
the shadows crept to Gospel
chimes and childhood rhymes,
the sweet debris of golden times
In mommy’s world now left behind.
Home turns refuge, safehouse,
cell when trapped inside that cozy shell,
but motherlove may self-transcend, new
causes and callings now coursing within,
a spirit soars to greet its dreams.
Your love redeems the churchly bells.
 |
| Photograph by David Noah, Winterville, Georgia |
