Ode to the Love in Your Photographs

Ode to the Love in Your Photographs

More than seven decades ago, your hands

penned young passion.

On the back, the blue tint of your ink stands

watch and proud of

the enduring affection in your hearts.

In the front, the truth of your smiles imparts

the importance

of diligence

to grasp each other’s subtle parts.

I remember you talking about him

often; you said

that he’d loved you at first sight, to the brim,

and let the thread

of your story attach itself to his

without doubts or questions. You know, that is

the reason why

I never cry

when I relive our memories.

Today, more than seven decades later,

you are still here

with me—the more black and white, the greater.

I always hear

your two voices in unison, you see.

(There is no death, just continuity.)

That explains why

I never cry

when I think of all this beauty.

©2023 Cendrine Marrouat

NB: During their courtship, my grandparents exchanged photos. At the back of each was included a tender message to the other. You can see one of them in the image at the top of this story.

I wrote this poem in response to the Ode to Ordinary Challenge organized by Vocal in July 2023.

Theme: Write an ode to an ordinary object.

"Ode to the Love in Your Photographs" follows the Ronsardian format, which is composed in an unlimited number of nine-line stanzas. The syllable count is 10-4-10-4-10-10-4-4-8, and the rhyming scheme a-b-a-b-c-c-d-d-c.

The Ronsardian Ode takes its name from Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585), one of the most prominent French poets of the Renaissance. He led the Pléiade, a group of seven writers whose goals were to break with earlier traditions of poetry and to elevate the status of the French language by subtle imitation of the Ancients.

You will find some of Ronsard's poems translated into English here.

That's it for today! Thank you for reading.

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Cendrine Marrouat is a writer, photographer, podcaster, blogger, anthology editor, and the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms and A Warm Cup of Cozy. She has authored and co-authored more than 40 books, including The Train: A Short Story (2023), In Her Own Words: A Collection of Short Stories & Flashku (2022), After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine (2021), Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku (2020), Walks: A Collection of Haiku (2019-2020), and In the Silence of Words: A Three-Act Play (2018).

Cendrine's work has appeared in many publications. She is the creator of the Sixku, Flashku, Sepigram, and Reminigram; as well as the co-creator of the Kindku, Pareiku, Vardhaku, and Hemingku.