This began as a game some bloggers played in 2008, to write about people who'd made an impact, in the same number of words as one's age, every day for a year. I did them less often and went on longer, adding one word each birthday. I stopped in 2016 and incorporated them into my main poetry blog. In 2019 I resumed the project and gave it its own blog again, with a new name, where it may unfold at its own (slow, intermittent, lapsing and resuming) pace. I've labelled these verse portraits, but they're more like quick sketches: mere glimpses, impressions....


Tuesday, 7 April 2009

Peggotty

Forty years all but one day
older than me.

Soft fat woman,
voice like honey.

Lying gowned in flowing purple
one liqueur chocolate
in smooth fingertips.

Musk and lavender wafting
from a cushiony bosom.
A yielding cheek for kisses.

Her garden had swings
and winding paths,
nooks for hide-and-seek
among rhododendrons.

Gave me '18 Poems
by Dylan Thomas'
one shared birthday –
1962, my 23rd. I have it still.



[Poem #67]



Sharing, 17 years after writing, with Poets and Storytellers United, for Friday Writings #222: Legacies.  This lady's whole self was her legacy. (I started writing a new piece about her, then remembered I had this.)





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16 comments:

  1. Jae Rose10 April 2026 at 17:13

    What a wonderful memory and rejoicing of a person - she has passed on a great deal it seems - Jae

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  2. Sumandebray10 April 2026 at 17:36

    This is truly an amazing game to play.
    Loved the poem about your friend.

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    Replies
    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade10 April 2026 at 17:41

      It's a good game! I really should get back to it more often.

      Delete
  3. J Cosmo Newbery10 April 2026 at 20:17

    A wonderful memory, beautifully expressed. Musk and lavender wafting from a cushiony bosom makes me think of my Granny.

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  4. Anonymous11 April 2026 at 00:36

    A lovely memory of a sweet person in your young life.,,Rall

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  5. shaun/tenzenmen11 April 2026 at 00:40

    Wow - I just read the 'rules' around the game. Every day for a year? Can people really have 365 people who have made an impact on their lives? I guess I might have that many but there's no way I could remember enough about them to write something. I wonder if I could list 365 people.... I might give that a go at least...

    Your poem is excellent Rosemary 👏

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    Replies
    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade11 April 2026 at 11:05

      Ha ha, the older you get, the more people (and also the more words per poem) ... and it need only be a momentary impact. Many people did it, a lot of them stalled after a while, like me. I don't know of any besides me who have come back to it sporadically ever since. I did start out with a list, and have not yet completed writing of all those people; meanwhile have written of some not on the original list.

      I'm gad you like this piece; thanks.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous11 April 2026 at 03:26

    aww what a sweet tribute. -Eric

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  7. Rommy11 April 2026 at 22:46

    The way you describe her gives her an air of a mythological muse. Majestic, larger than life, and bringing that spark of inspiration exactly when needed.

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  8. purplepeninportland.com16 April 2026 at 01:26

    what a beautiful tribute to a friend. so much lovely imagery, i felt i could smell her scent.

    ReplyDelete

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