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November 6, 2011
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A woman is missing.
My sweater is knit too loose and the wind blows through.
The leaves are done changing and are waiting to fall.
I think of them collaged against my morning-damp windshield;
they will mostly be red. My wipers will push them off;
I will forget about them. But inbetween these thoughts
my brain hums. A woman is missing and I cannot forget.

Two weeks ago the leaves were mostly green and yellow.
Two weeks ago a woman went missing.
I didn't know her but she went missing and today
I am standing at a wall covered with candles and
I am rolling her name over my tongue and I am thinking.
I am thinking and praying, but I am not hoping.  

A woman went missing; a woman is missing.
I keep going to work, getting up each day.
I brush my teeth, comb my hair, pack my lunch, drive my car.  
And mostly I do not think about her. But sometimes I do.
Sometimes the hairs on my neck stand up and the two blocks
between the library and the coffee shop are impossibly long.
Sometimes I feel so much a woman that it hurts.

Two weeks from now, when the trees are bare,
the police will find her body and I will go back to the wall of candles
to think about the woman who went missing and was found
but was not really found. There will be a hole in my chest and
I won't quite know why because I didn't know her.
But I will imagine I hear her laughter, see her smile,
and I will think of all the women in my life and I will weep.

A woman is dead and I cannot forget.
:iconoritpetra:
Edit: A huge thank you to =LadyofGaerdon for suggesting this as a DD (and as a DLD, too!) and to ^Beccalicious for featuring it. Means more than I can say. :heart:

Also, if you are interested, you can you can listen to me reading the poem here.




This is different for me, and so naturally, I am unsure of it. But part of me also rather likes it.

I reckon there's lots of stuff here that needs improvement, so if you'd like to call anything to my attention, critique is very much welcomed and desired. Feedback more generally would also be nice. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the themes and issues I am digging at here.

Finally, a brief bit of background on this: in October, a young woman went missing from the community in which I live and a search has been going on since. Yesterday, the police found her remains and began a homicide investigation. I didn't know her and never met her, but the story has really gotten to me -- perhaps because it was so close to home, perhaps because she is very close to me in age, and perhaps because it sickens me that women (and men, too, but I needed, right now, emotionally, to write this piece about women) still need to worry about this sort of thing. I'll be praying for her friends and family, and for all people who have been affected by similar situations, and I urge you to join my in keeping these people in your thoughts/prayers/meditations/et cetera.

:heart:,
Tazz.
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Daily Deviation

Given 2011-11-29
A woman is missing. by =OritPetra Suggester Writes: a seemingly remote tragedy turned it into a deep reflection of the shared fears and vulnerability we all wrestle with. ( Suggested by =LadyofGaerdon and Featured by ^Beccalicious )

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:iconartin2007:
It is lovely, and moving, Orit.
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:iconvigilo:
=Vigilo Apr 4, 2013  Student Writer
Hi - this is just to say, I used the title of your amazing piece in a poem of mine, for #TheTitlePage's contest, over here! If you'd prefer for me not to use it, please let me know, and I'll change it immediately. Thank you! :heart:
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:iconsammur-amat:
=Sammur-amat Mar 24, 2012   General Artist
You've sent shivers down my spine:heart:
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:iconbeautyinreview:
~beautyinreview Jan 30, 2012  Hobbyist Writer
Again, you manage to capture something that so many people feel in a few beautiful and heartbreaking stanzas. I have had this reaction to terrible things that happen around me, and I think that you evoke the fear and sadness of it very well. The fact that these things are a concern, that they are something to think about, that it is generally women who go missing and end up dead, is terrifying and terrible. I pray that one day we won't need to think about a woman going missing, because it will never happen.

We shouldn't forget, ever, so you immortalizing the event in a poem is fitting.

Gorgeous work, hon, that shows what a beautiful person you are. :heart:
Reply
:iconmreid973:
Lovely and lyrical and leaves the reader with something to think about. Congratulations on the DD.
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:icondailylitdeviations:
Your wonderful literary work has been chosen to be featured by DLD (Daily Literature Deviations) in a news article that can be found here [link]
Be sure to check out the other artists featured and show your support by :+fav:ing the News Article.

Keep writing and keep creating.
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:iconangie-pictures:
Congratulations on the DD! :iconflowerheartplz:
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:iconthe-theory-liz:
!The-Theory-Liz Dec 5, 2011  Hobbyist Writer
Hello again this piece is featured here: [link]
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:iconthe-theory-liz:
!The-Theory-Liz Nov 30, 2011  Hobbyist Writer
I think this is a beautiful reflection on events that haunt us :nod:
It needs to be said and the way it is thoughtfully articulated gives me the impression that this is still haunting. There is no shame in that. I think it's good to know that people are affected instead of turning a blind eye or being apathetic about it.

No one would be able to forget anyways maybe some but that is quite sad :no:
:tighthug:
Reply
:iconoritpetra:
=OritPetra Nov 30, 2011   Writer
Yes, it's been reassuring for me that there are so many other people who are emotionally affected by this, who can find it within them to care deeply even about a stranger. These events are tragic and terrible, but at least they can remind us all of our humanity.

Thank you. :heart:
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