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Essence Lost

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For: lets tango Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Shadow Hamilton


Ava Gardner and Ernest Hemmingway in Spain, 1954
Photo courtesy of the Ava Gardner Museum
The writer said, Never change that water I want to keep it forever, as if the pool changed its water's molecular strucure to capture the essence of the movie star's naked and glorious beauty, as she swam like a mythical siren, sending out notes of allurement. A romantic story, if true, but in the end the pool was drained and the water was changed after the death of the writer; his heirs not sympathetic to the whimseys of a mercurial mind. During languid summer days I swim in the river and wonder if its water's molecular structure is changed to capture the essence of my presence, and carry it lovingly to the west to its mouth to the sea. Does the sea rejoice, gifting the essence to the clouds until they are full to bursting, then send it falling back to earth as rain on the mountains and forests and fields; to fall on the heart of the city where I live in a house with a roof that shelters me from the essence of the rain from the sea from the river from me?

Copyright © | Year Posted 2024




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Date: 3/15/2024 4:39:00 PM
I enjoyed the gentle wording of this profound poem. I especially liked 'gifting the essence to the clouds until they are full to bursting...falling back to earth. The last three lines resonated with me.
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Chetta Achara
Date: 3/16/2024 11:12:00 AM
I wrote it after reading an article about the relationship between Hemmingway and Gardner. They were great friends but the article did not suggest they were lovers. Apparently Gardner lived a wild lifestyle. She was devested by Hemminway's suicide.

Book: Reflection on the Important Things