poetry is wonderful for poets and lovers of literature. nevertheless, some people find it difficult to understand. in this little volume, each poem has a few words added to it - a brief anecdote about its origin, or a few thoughts about what the poem is all about. perhaps this will make poetry just a bit more accessible, maybe as easy to take in as the cup of tea one might sip while leafing through these pages.
better than his frozen shoulders,
mangled strips of flesh,
better than his furrowed brow,
hiding eyes that once were clear and open,
better
– and who knows why we use words like that?
why not softer, saner, stronger? –
better is his mouth, still sweet and firm and ready to say
words that warm the world, ready to sing
quiet songs and to bequeath
a kiss on his small child,
trusting in his arms.
about this poem:
being human just ain’t easy. it’s a crazy condition. so much doesn’t make sense, and that includes, i suspect, our need to want to make sense of everything. so the best we can do is do the best we can do, to use what we have and shrug our shoulders or even smile at what doesn’t work so well.
yes, it’s better to have relaxed shoulders and supple muscles; it’s better to walk around with a face that isn’t all scrunched up; it’s better to look out at the world with clear and open eyes … but what are you going to do if you don’t have that? jump down the next bridge?
this guy, who shows all kinds of macho no-no attributes – attributes that could be “better”, that don’t quite measure up to … to who? to what? – holds his child in his arms, a child that trusts him completely, and sings and smiles and kisses.
isabella mori is a writer and psychotherapist. born in germany to the painter juergen von huendeberg and his wife elisabeth, she has lived in the UK, paraguay and chile. she immigrated to canada in 1982. since 1987, she lives in vancouver. isabella is the mother of three wonderful children and is an aspiring grandmother.
while her mother tongue is german (and her grandmother tongue russian), she writes mostly in english, with a little german and spanish thrown in for spice. you can reach isabella at isabella at teatablebook dot com, read her blog, or visit her web site counselling in vancouver.
price: $15.00
paperback: 50 pages
publisher: alphaglyph (november 2006)
language: english
ISBN 0-9781703-0-4
dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1/8 inche
you can purchase the book directly from isabella mori, using cash, cheque or paypal. you can reach her via email at isabella at teatablebook dot com.
and lastly, why the name "tea table book"? here is an excerpt from the introduction:
this book was edited and produced in wonderful collaboration with carol sill from alpha glyph publications. thank you, carol! may you delight the hearts and minds of many more writers to come.what is a tea table book? well, it is a bit like a coffee table book – a handsome book that sits in your living room, one that you feel inclined once in a while to pick up and leaf through, enjoying a morsel here and there while you sip your coffee.
since i am more of a tea drinker, i thought i would create a tea table book.
a tea table book also seems – quieter, a bit more reflective than a coffee table book. i am thinking especially of my mother’s tea. carefully prepared, with the loose leaves placed in a bag in the already-warmed porcelain teapot and freshly boiling water poured on it from just the right distance, so as to mix enough oxygen with the water, it flows into a wide, thin porcelain bowl, over a few small pieces of white rock sugar, crackling in the heat of hot liquid. a light emanates from the cup and from the tea in a way – well, in a way that i find hard to describe other than in a poem.