The Impossible Truth
Gabo is dead.
Nevermind that he lives on
in letters that never come and
in a dead man’s blood coming
to rest at his mother’s feet,
in heartless grandmothers and
kind-hearted and dictatorial
patriarchs
in imagination deeply rooted
in reality and the steaming jungles
of Macondo
and in ice.
He is dead.
Though Gabo’s ghost wanders
the gulf between town and village,
rich and poor
the powerful and powerless
the godly and the godless
between firing squads
and the truth of dreams
through miracles and
the quotidian
scent of bitter almonds
unrequited love
delirious, comic beauty
demented dragons and
through the very center
of our unending
worldwide sorrow.
This very old man with
enormous wings
is dead.
Day 28 of NaPoWriMo and, hard as it is to believe, we’ve only two poems to go in this year’s challenge! Is it possible to gain a second wind this late in the game? If so, let the magic begin!
The optional prompt for today was to write a found poem: “Today I challenge you to find a news article, and to write a poem using (mostly, if not only) words from the article! You can repeat them, splice them, and rearrange them however you like.”
I remembered that a friend mentioned an article in the New York Times on Gabriel García Márguez, so I headed there, found “Magic in Service of Truth” by Salman Rushdie, from the April 30, 2014 edition and ran with it.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Still Life with Tortillas 
You are such a gifted poet, Susan. You paint such beautiful pictures with words.
LikeLike
Jolene, thank you so much. I’m touched by the passing of my dear inspiration, GGM, and a poem seems the best way to express my sorrow. ❤
LikeLike
Ditto what Jolene said… and I share your sorrow, dear friend. Such a loss to this world. But such a joy that he shared his words with us all! (Did you read that he left un unpublished manuscript… that could only be published upon his death, if ever? Oh my….) I love you, and your words, Susan. xo
LikeLike
I love you, too, Dawn, and your kind words, as well. Thank you!
LikeLike
This is a beautiful word picture that truly honors someone that painted beautiful word pictures. I especially liked the ending because that story was my introduction to GGM. Thank you again and again for nearly a full month of magic. ❤
LikeLike
Hey, Deb, so good to hear from you! Yep, Gabo’s short stories continue to blow me even deeper into magical realism. So glad you were able to stop by for this one. BTW we’ll be in the Golden Heart City for all of May if you happen to be around. ❤ O
LikeLike
I have never read one of his books. I think I must, now, after this tribute.
LikeLike
You might want to start with Love in a Time of Cholera, or his short stories before plunging into One Hundred Years of Solitude, my favorite but one that some people think is confusing. On the other hand, who better to decipher confusion that the artist/writer/poet/etc./etc. you?
LikeLike
Okay, I may have to do this . . .
LikeLike
😀
LikeLike
Wow, Susan, your poetry is beautiful, like a song!
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Patti. I’m happy that you enjoyed this piece. It’s hard to let Gabo go.
LikeLike