A happier ending
Poetry | Posted by Jannie on 7 January 2009 @ 6:25 AM 49 Comments
photo by Jannie, 2004
(upon discovering Sylvia Plath)
I was a mere spring and half a summer away from
becoming flesh the day you laid out bread and milk
and sealed off your kitchen to inhale your final solution.
I didn’t even realize until my coffee chat with Bridget
the other day that you lived and died a full hundred
years later than I waywardly assumed you had.
Surely poets didn’t suicide themselves in 1963?
1863 – 1763 – I could see. But 1963?
Yet you did.
And I wonder was your life
like a grasshopper’s on a
windshield at sixty mph,
like an uprooted sapling’s who
can’t speak the foreign tongue
of discontinued seasons?
Hanging on for dear life
from the rafters of childhood,
from the meat hooks of love,
from the blackness of red tulips,
who knows what night you knew?
Ah, gone lady, had we been girls
of beach summers and winter woods
together, I would’ve shown you how to
laugh and wear your hat like starshine,
how to skip the flattest round stones
and joke about moons over tea,
every day a small miracle hanging
like children in park swings,
like bras in happy trees.
On 7 January 2009 at 7:21 am
Lance said,
Every day is a miracle…and I’m reminded of that reading here today Jannie. Even in the darkest of days, I think there is good to be found. A life ended too soon, indeed…
Lance’s last blog post..And The Word Is…
On 7 January 2009 at 8:23 am
Glenn Buttkus said,
On her gravestone it is written, “Even amidst fierce flames the golden lotus can be planted.” Her history was rife with mental illness, even being put into a mental hospital after her first suicide attempt.
Your poem really knocks my hat off, Jannie. /like an uprooted sapling who can’t speak the foreign tongue of discontinued seasons?/…yes, great imagery./from the meathooks of love, from the blackness of red tulips, who knows what night you knew?/….the depth of these lines show that beyond the flashing smile, the flinging bras, and wearing/your hat like starshine/ there is a serious Jannie, and sensitive soul, an intellect lurking just behind the mascara and blond locks.
You continue to fascinate and surprise most of us out here, Ms. Funster. Levity might be your byline, but heartfelt poetic expression is your real rice bowl. Keep writing. We love it.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..James Paytiamo–Acoma Pueblo
On 7 January 2009 at 8:33 am
Glenn Buttkus said,
By the way, for those of you who do not know this, Jannie looks a lot like the photos and paintings of Sylvia Plath. Uncanny fact that. Jannie got the sunshine and Sylvia got the shadow. You have peaked an interest here, Jannie. I will have to review some of her poetry.
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..James Paytiamo–Acoma Pueblo
On 7 January 2009 at 9:54 am
wade said,
Plath. Ah, the memories,The Bell Jar, the crucifixion of Ted Hughes by the women in my poetry classes, the sacrednesss (sanctification perhaps) of her memory at Smith College where my daughter decided not to go after all,saving me from poverty.All of that, and I still don’t know if I like her writing.Yours, I like.
On 7 January 2009 at 12:04 pm
Betsy Wuebker said,
Jannie – This was just breathtaking. Like Wade, I’m not sure if Sylvia is overrated. I’m also not sure if you ever could be. You’ve got a piece of genius.
Betsy Wuebker’s last blog post..ENDANGERED SPECIES: TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND JOURNALISM
On 7 January 2009 at 12:08 pm
Thomma Lyn said,
Oh my goodness, how beautiful. It moved me to tears. Your imagery is so powerful, so affecting. I love Sylvia Plath’s poetry, and what a talent you have for poetry!
I like what Glenn said, that Sylvia had the shadow while you have the sunshine. Keep writing your marvelous poems — they are breathtaking.
Thomma Lyn’s last blog post..Waterfall Quest
On 7 January 2009 at 12:08 pm
Mama Zen said,
Jannie, that first stanza is amazing. So many layers. The “final solution” reference to the gas oven is brilliant.
Mama Zen’s last blog post..Second Place Pt. 2
On 7 January 2009 at 1:15 pm
debbie said,
I loved this. You have a talent I will never have.
debbie’s last blog post..Helping you feel better about aging
On 7 January 2009 at 1:33 pm
Patricia said,
Beautiful writing and good imagery, I remember thinking that Sylvia did not have balance in her life even so I too like Glenn’s phrase of sunshine and shadow.
Suicide always leaves those who are left questioning, but I believe it is quite often a tremendous relief from pain to the person.
Some of us are always working on creating life as death defying I sometimes think that is a sad condition.
I will come back and read this again. Thank you so much.
Beautiful writing.
Patricia’s last blog post..After Math
On 7 January 2009 at 2:00 pm
Miladysa said,
Excellent.
I could hear the music as I read this. If you haven’t written it yet you should do!
Sylvia is buried just down the road from where I live. I put some flowers on her grave for you next time I’m passing.
Miladysa’s last blog post..81. Mistaken
On 7 January 2009 at 2:38 pm
Tammy said,
Hey Jannie
Just popped over here to check out your poem. I love poetry because it never fails to amaze me how a person takes words and intertwines them into a tapestry that never frays. It leaves an eternal mark in the world.
On 7 January 2009 at 3:10 pm
Jannie said,
Lance: You first! Yes, and every day filled with hundreds and hundreds of little miracles.
Glenn: I guess we’ll never know why her (or many others peoples’)lotus never found a happy place to root. I’m not sure I even needed the preamble on this one, I may edit it out eventually. Or not. Yeah, I am especially glad of “discontinued seasons” and “meat hooks of love”, no idea how those came to me, just glad they did. Thank you for all your lovely complementing. And freaking-whoa on that sunshine and shadow line. Maybe God made me to skate over dark waters to tell you what I glimpse below. (Thankfully he’s kept the ice pretty thick so far.)
Wade: Wow, you lived it. I never took any English poetry or lit in college, only French so maybe that’s why I know so little about it, about Plath. For some reason I had pictured her in Lizzie Borden’s time. And hey, coming from a fine fine writer as yourself, I thank you very much for that compliment.
Betsy: Now you got me all blushing and stuff. Too bad you’ll nver get to read the ‘genious’ of the extensive crap I wrote 20 years ago. Please may all my friends and family have burned those poems. Please??
Thomma Lynn: Wow, to tears? Holy shit. I had no idea. Now you done moved ME to tears. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Mama Zen: Gee, well maybe I won’t axe that beginning after all. Yeah, and I didn’t clue in to the final solution line until after I’d written it and read it back. (Pretty selfish of Hitler to have stolen it from me.) Thank you so much for your wonderful comment, coming from you it means a lot as you are a talented poet. And proset – hey, did I just invent that?
Debbie: Thank you. See above to Betsy about my very very bad poetry of yore. I think maybe it’s just maturity that has made my mind a little sharper? And being basically happy in life that lets me reflect on things around me. (a.k.a. almost 445 years of Life Research.)
Patricia: So you mean the person who kills themselves is releasing themselves from pain? If so, I had never thought of it like that and what a thought-provoking idea indeed. Thank you for your compliments on the imagery. Someday I may give you guys a bit of my imagery secret, if enough of you ask.
Miladysa, I had not thought at all about putting this or part of it to a melody, I do have, like, over 150 melodies needing lyrics, maybe something here will fit. Thanks for the sugggestion. Wow, I’m going to Google her grave.
Tammy: I freaking love poetry too. Billy Collins is my favorite. I have all of his books. And sadly the “Smoked Glass” by Alden Nowlan I got at a yardsale for just one dollar 21 years ago went missing somewhere along the way.
I think the next poem I post will be one about my buttocks and my sofa.
On 7 January 2009 at 3:15 pm
Jannie said,
Whoops, let’s change that to “almost 45 years of “Life Research,” shall we??
Yep 445 years old yet I don’t look a day over 722!
On 7 January 2009 at 4:01 pm
nikkicrumpet said,
WHOA…..excuse me while I take a moment to be mightly impressed!!!!
nikkicrumpet’s last blog post..~♥~ I WISH WEDNESDAY ~♥~
On 7 January 2009 at 4:25 pm
sheila said,
Wow, Jannie that was incredibly beautiful! And I’d never say that if I didn’t really mean it. Nice, sweet poem!
sheila’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
On 7 January 2009 at 6:13 pm
Talon said,
Beautiful poem, Jannie. Aww, if only it were so easy to rescue someone from the depths of overwhelming despair. Suicide…the impact is something I’ve dealt with a few times in my life. It does shadow the lives left behind.
Talon’s last blog post..Wrapped…
On 7 January 2009 at 6:57 pm
Georgie B said,
Nice poem.
Georgie B’s last blog post.."Golden Texas Tea" (pg 23)
On 7 January 2009 at 8:28 pm
Renee said,
Jannie, you never cease to amaze me. I read this poem 4 times and discovered something new each time (but perhaps I’m just REALLY slow!) You are a ray of Funshine and I wish you could teach ME how to skip stones
Renee’s last blog post..Where did the weekend go?
On 7 January 2009 at 9:08 pm
J.D. Meier said,
I hadn’t heard of Sylvia Plath before, but I heard Jannie Funster was awesome.
The proof is in the poem.
J.D. Meier’s last blog post..Growth Mindset Over Fixed Mindset
On 7 January 2009 at 9:46 pm
Retro Heather said,
Did you write that??
Holy cr*p woman, you can write! I mean I knew you could do humor like nobody else, and other things, but I’ve never before laid eyes on any of your poetry.
I’m wide eyed and blown away. WOW.
Retro Heather’s last blog post..Accept things the way they are now
On 7 January 2009 at 10:14 pm
Lisa said,
Oh my gosh, I LOVED that poem, Jannie. (And I love that picture at the top of the page, too! What a cute dog!)
Lisa’s last blog post..New year, new Tootsie Rolls…
On 7 January 2009 at 10:30 pm
Jannie said,
Nikki: Thank you. Once in while the spirit moves me.
Sheila: Thank you very much. I aim for sweetness above all else.
Talon: I did not know that about you. If ever you want to share anything about it you know my e-mail. My mom’s dad hanged himself but NOBODY ever talks about it, ever. I found out from my dad how he died. He must’ve been very sad. I want to ask my mom a little about it but I’m kinda scared to in case she gets mad.
Georgie: Thank you. And thanks for being such a staunch Jannie Funster supporter. Your visits mean a lot to me.
Renee: I think moreover it was me slow in telling it. I’m trying to get to a Billy Collins level, but there’s only one him. And hell ya, skipping stones it easy, just need the correct shaped rock and the right flick of the wrist.
Now J.D. you’ve made me blush and that almost never ever happens.
Heather: Yep, I done wrote it up. I think the next few years will see a lot of poems out of me. I like this stage I’m at. Thank you for appreciating it, just a few words and ideas I strung together and one day I did have a grasshopper on my windshield for about 25 minutes on the highway, little sucker hung on like a trooper. Probably missed his mom and dad where he ended up.
Lisa! You’re the first one to mention the photo! I should give you some kind of prize!!! I took that when Kelly was three. Peach was 8 then, human years that is.
On 8 January 2009 at 1:28 am
Cindy said,
the last two verses of that brought tears to my eyes.
Oh my.. it’s way past my bedtime…..
On 8 January 2009 at 3:00 am
Belle Bamford said,
Jannie – this is brilliant and beautiful.
The Fighter Pilot had to study and analyze The Bell Jar for English Lit. When I asked him why he thought SP had killed herself, he replied
‘She thought too much’
I loved that.
By the way – I want that dog!
Belle Bamford’s last blog post..FLASH GORDON
On 8 January 2009 at 5:44 am
Sheila@DrCason.org said,
This is the best yet- when you get poignant and introspective. I CRAVE writing like this. I feel all filled up.
Sheila@DrCason.org’s last blog post..Time to Vote Again! and How to Incorporate Photography into Your Life
On 8 January 2009 at 6:43 am
Brianne said,
Sylvia Plath, in a word, is AMAZING.
On 8 January 2009 at 9:16 am
POETRY MATTERS | Passing Thru said,
[...] their brilliant poetic compositions: Jannie Funster, whose breathtaking tribute to Sylvia Plath, a happier ending, stunned me yesterday, so that I could barely react. Matthew Dryden, who is sharing his talent [...]
On 8 January 2009 at 9:51 am
Lynn said,
Wonderful poem, Jannie. And I like that you ended it with bras in happy trees. I read The Bell Jar as a teenager and was quite affected by it. When my niece Becky went through (what I called) her “pale and tragic” period, during a visit she told me she hated her name. I said, “What would you rather it be? Sylvia?”
Lynn’s last blog post..Sign, speaking and reflection
On 8 January 2009 at 10:26 am
Glenn Buttkus said,
What a great announcement from the Funster….you will be writing more poetry. You have unique perspectives on the ruts we all labor within. I always get excited when a creative person turns, or turns back to poetry. Prose is great, but a poem is a distillation of everything, whittled down to its essence; like looking at a beating heart in your hand.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..Ariel
On 8 January 2009 at 10:31 am
Glenn Buttkus said,
By the way, I don’t know how it works with other poets, but I like to return to the poems of yesteryear, and rewrite them with the freshness of my mindset for that day, that year, that moment. I had a creative writing teacher once tell me that one should never rewrite anything they have created; what a load of bull that was. Even if esthetically the work does not become better or more significant, it becomes timely and relevant and new. So do not badmouth your old poems, rewrite them. I wonder how Shay will weigh in on this?
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..Ariel
On 8 January 2009 at 11:08 am
Jannie said,
Cindy: Thank you, I am sooooo glad I was able to touch you with my words. So glad.
Belle, lovely Belle, I have not read The Bell Jar yet. “She thought too much,” must certainly be it and had the curse / blessing of feeling too deeply I suppose.
Dr C: Poingnant and introspective, poignant and introspective, poingant and introspective. Okay, got it! Piece of cake
Brianne: Welcome! So glad you could stop by my site. Always great to meet another poetry fan and I really got a kick out of your writing I’ve read so far.
Betsy: Thanks so much for your wonderful words and the link. Again, so sorry to hear about your young friend’s death.
Lynn: Thank you. I will probably read The Bell Jar soon. And how is your niece now? The teen years can be extra hard on some.
Glenn: Well, I am only human, sad to say and now may have writer’s block for the next fourteen hours or sixteen years. Will for sure try to keep the essence in mind. Whittle, whittle, whittle. And bang out lots of metaphors. But of course, the motivation to write has to be there in the first place.
My old poems? They pretty-much suck and would have no hope of revival, but thanks for the vote of confidence. Yes, I wonder on the Shay-meister’s thought of all this.
On 8 January 2009 at 11:40 am
Lynn said,
Becky – now called Rebecca – has definitely moved beyond the pale and tragic years and is a very beautiful and smart young lady living in the Pacific Northwest.
Lynn’s last blog post..Sign, speaking and reflection
On 8 January 2009 at 9:53 pm
Aimee said,
Wow Jannie – what an amazing poem! I don’t even really have words for you…just “Wow”.
Aimee’s last blog post..Anything worth having is worth fighting for
On 8 January 2009 at 11:35 pm
Mia said,
Wonderful poem Jannie.
Bras in trees. I keep seeing this around…I wonder, is this something you do often?
Mia’s last blog post..Almost Another Night of Sleep
On 8 January 2009 at 11:49 pm
SnaggleTooth said,
The pic is SOooo cute!
N The dog teaches the little girl to swing…
I just read a mill verses from Sylvia Plath
n she’s a keeper!
thankyou Glenn for the wonderful illustrations!
(go visit him)
Yes, a wnderful chain of verses you’ve sewn here today! Rejoice, halelueja!
I find it tough to respect suicide in general, however, because it hurts others, never mind we’re all going to die after we’re born anyhow- it just robs the choice from the Creator of when!
SnaggleTooth’s last blog post..Seven Dings
On 9 January 2009 at 6:23 am
Shay said,
Oh FINE. (hands oh hips) Billy COLLins is your favorite poet. Cos Billy COLLins is so fracking great and the sun shines out of his butt. Poor Fireblossom is just chopped liver. Sniff. Cry. Sulk. No, it’s all right, I’m FINE. I mean, FINE, if you want to like Billy my-stuff-don’t-stink COLLins better than me, go ahead, it’s a free country. Sniffle.
Shay’s last blog post..Conversation Overheard In A Diner
On 9 January 2009 at 10:37 am
Jannie said,
Lynn: I’m so glad she found her way back from her tragic phase. So many teens that don’t, opt instead for a permanent solution their temporary problems.
Aimee: Thanks, glad you liked it. Hopefully I will write something good next time too.
Snag: And I hear Ted Hughes was an amazing poet too, Poet Laureate for England for 40 years. Your take on suicide is the same as mine.
Shay: Billy Collin’s butt does come in handy when the light bulbs all burn out, yes. hee, hee. But, dear lady, I thought you taught him all he knows?
On 9 January 2009 at 3:01 pm
Cricket/Tammy said,
Ah Jannie. This is great. You know my grandmother wrote poetry. As I child I would sit in her lap for hours and listen. This is so beautiful.
I knew we had some secret hidden connection. The love of poetry.
Cricket/Tammy’s last blog post..Who would I rather be?
On 9 January 2009 at 3:09 pm
Jannie said,
Tammy: I already felt a deep connection with you but this sure puts the icing on the proverbial friendship cake!!
On 11 January 2009 at 5:14 am
robbi said,
Sylvia oh Sylvia, a p(l)ath well trod in life and more so in death.Hughes was a bastard and his sister even more so,the ‘bell jar’ perhaps her best work. Like Caitlin Thomas and Simone De Beauvoir, Plath was overshadowed by her male partner but in my opinion was a clearer thinker and better writer.After her death Hughes tried to take credit for much of Sylvia’s direction but was really the underlying cause of her inability to cope thus leading to her eventual suicide.Some years ago I wrote a poem about Hughes for a group of poets in my city called the ‘friendly street poets’as we had been discussing the works of Sylvia vis a vis Hughes.Below is a para from that poem,oh, the juice washed off just fine.
I listen to his words
though with one ear open
therefore I did not hear
clearly;
what it was he said
then shall those words
be but dust.
robbi’s last blog post..Ink marks on a blank page Sunday 11th Jan
On 12 January 2009 at 5:10 am
Jo said,
Wow, you did a great job here. This is powerful stuff, Jannie. There are some really beautiful lines and it flows very well indeed.
Jo’s last blog post..Ripe
On 12 January 2009 at 11:52 am
Jannie said,
Robbi: I am not sure if I’ve ever read any of his poetry, I understand he was England’s Poet Laureate for, like forever. I will check him out, maybe even today at the bookstore. I’m not so sure I believe he drove her to suicide, as in her ealry 20s she did try to kill herself, went missing and was found apparently under a crawl space outside her house. Very sad, nevertheless for all involved. And I appreciate your standing up for her, as you did in yolur AWESOME few lines. He was quite a cad carrying on in an affair, her with those two young babes. The “Friendly Street Poets.” Were you all friendly or was it the street that was? Or maybe you were street poets, reciting your verse to passersby in a friendly manner?
Jo: I know I lured you over here, but your poems are all so good and I wanted to show off that I finally had once that was actually pretty good (I am saying so humbly, of course.)
On 12 January 2009 at 7:42 pm
Erin M said,
Jannie… I love this, just love love love it! I should say deep meaningful things about it but.. I can’t come up with the right words, and no, ” I love love love it ” is not cutting it. What an understatement. This is print it and hang it by my desk good. Tattoo it on my body good. I LOVE it!
Ohhh I just love this!
Erin M’s last blog post..oy vey – too much stress for my couch
On 13 January 2009 at 12:42 am
Jannie said,
Erin: How ’bout you go fling your bra into the nearest tree and that will be more than words enough.
On 13 January 2009 at 4:35 pm
Erin M said,
lol ok, but it’ll have to be a little tree
Erin M’s last blog post..My Refrigerator Poetry
On 14 January 2009 at 12:43 am
Hump Day Reading for the Restless Soul said,
[...] A happier ending by Jannie Funster [...]
On 14 January 2009 at 6:50 am
Jannie said,
Erin: But a very pretty one that all the cute little birdies like to sing from in spring, I bet!
On 16 May 2009 at 8:00 am
Jannie Funster said,
Thank you Humpie!
Jannie Funster’s last blog post..Ordering The Funsterment
On 5 July 2009 at 3:27 pm
georgia state » calonepyt: byfihujoq said,
[...] Sylvia Plath Poem | Jannie Funster [...]