The Living Poetry Project: Part 13

I’ve been carrying Maureen E. Doallas book of poems, Neruda’s Memoirs, around with me for months. Some books are like that, I have to live with them for awhile before I can really say anything about the material.

This collection is filled with grief over the loss of family members—the focus of the grief is primarily on the passing of a beloved brother. It is said that the loss of a sibling is the most difficult grief to navigate. Having a brother myself, who is the keeper of my childhood memories and the only person who can speak “my private language,” I can see how to loose a sibling would be an inexpressible and endless heartache.

Maureen tactfully approaches the language of loss by studying the poetry of Neruda. Like Neruda, Maureen’s poetry finds comfort in questions. Questions create a conversation for us to explore the suffering, growth, and wonderment of death; this is such a lovely subject for a poetry collection to tackle.

To celebrate this collection of poems I first made a 100 copies of Neruda’s poem, “The Question.” On the reverse side I copied Maureen’s poem, “Neruda’s Memoirs.” When placed side by side, these two poems have such a wonderful conversation with each other. I took these poems to a place that would care for questions—AntelopeValleyCommunity College. I hid the poems everywhere. But this Living Poetry act didn’t seem enough sharing for this book; this is not just a book of questions but a book of loving lyrics.

I barrowed my favorite poem from the collection, “Worn Shirt,” and tried to enact its lines a bit. I made paper shirts and placed them in paper bags for people to find while searching for their favorite scents.

I wish this book many safe travels, as I think it is a book that will help many through their own grieving processes.

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