Use the hashtag #slice2013
A giveaway to note! Visit the Teaching Authors website for a terrific giveaway.
Don't forget to look to the right to see whose turn it is to add a line to the Progressive Poem, the idea created by Irene Latham at Live Your Poem. Then head over to see how it's going!
Don't forget to look to the right to see whose turn it is to add a line to the Progressive Poem, the idea created by Irene Latham at Live Your Poem. Then head over to see how it's going!
There
was a moment in the past when I knew that my husband was going away, at least
the one I had known and loved all the years.
That memory returned last week when I spent time in Missouri at my
sister-in-law Kay’s funeral. Funny how
some events trigger other memories.
I
don’t remember if anything particular happened, only that we had been watching stars
outside before going to sleep. We had a
good view from our bedroom window. This
is a poem that I wrote to try to capture the feeling.
Twinkles show in the stars at night.
I saw them light up the sky
from our bedroom window.
With some dread I turn
to look at you, knew I needed
the book of you, because you
would soon be gone.
©Linda
Baie 2013
photo credit: Indigo Skies Photography via photopin cc
Linda, your poem captures and shares the sense of dread and impending doom you felt and that moment. Perhaps, the reality of sadness is strongest when we are surrounded by such great beauty.
ReplyDeleteAnita, your words seem very wise. I imagine that is it exactly. Thank you!
DeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this memory. Hopefully the other memories - the ones filled with love and laughter - are helping to sustain you.
Yes, there are a lot of them. Thanks Maria!
DeleteWow. This is a powerful poem, Linda. Thank you for sharing it and yourself with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you too Katherine!
DeleteI'm just very teary now; I can feel your words so deeply. I think of you and your husband often, imagining how difficult it would be. I so admire your strength and integrity. Thank you for sharing this; it will perhaps lend strength to others in similar situations. Perhaps a collection of these poems of strength would be in order? Just a thought. Prayers for continued comfort.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Donna. I actually try not to share often, but this time the moment rather threw me & I wanted to. It has been such a journey.
DeleteIt is so sad to realize that the person who has been such a vibrant part of your life is slowly slipping away. Your poem reflects that. Beautiful, Linda.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elsie. I appreciate your words. It has made me so aware to do all I can in the day, because one doesn't know what's coming tomorrow.
DeleteUniverse is vast and endless. We often would like to think of our lives and the lives of our dear ones as vast and endless. You have caught the truth of human life in your lines of poetry. Beautiful and sad at the same time.
ReplyDeleteWhat wise words, Terje. It's a new way for me to think of this. Thank you!
DeleteI love when you said that you 'needed the book of you'. It is such an line with grief attached. I often feel that when I am with my mom these days...so hard. xo nanc
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy. It's nice to hear you know what I mean. I'm sorry about your mom, too.
DeleteBeautiful, Linda. And thank you for sharing the process of coming to terms with love, loss, and the way our memory turns to the past even as it prepares for the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tara. I'm so late, had a lo-ong school meeting this evening! I appreciate the way you described it-so right!
DeleteThere is a sense of eminent sadness lurking at the edges of the beautiful scene. It's almost haunting. This poem touched my heart Linda. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Robin. It does help to try to express my feelings through words, trying to come to some terms with what has happened, is happening.
DeleteI cannot imagine walking in your shoes, Linda. So much love and loss... it must feel like it's too much to bear sometimes.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing it with us. It filled me with sadness, but also with love since only great love can produce feelings like the ones you're having.
Thank you Stacey. It does seem to help to remember. I know some think it's too painful, but to me it isn't-it's lovely that we did have such a happy life.
Delete"I need the book of you." so true, so sad, so real. Thanks for sharing your ups and downs with us. The connections are special.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Margaret.
DeleteSo beautiful and so sad. I know this dread - with my mother. It must be so much more painful when you have it for your spouse. "You would soon be gone." Such a tough and vivid line.
ReplyDeleteIt touches me that it touched you, too, Maureen. Those feelings are very real, and seeing that 'going away' is the tough part. Thank you!
DeleteOh Linda, your poem is heartbreakingly beautiful. I don't really have any more words to say to you, but know that I feel for you and I love reading your words.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jennifer. I appreciate the response very much.
DeleteYour poem so captured love and loss and memories and need. You grabbed my emotions so deeply. I can't imagine living with this on a daily basis. My mom had memory loss but still knew us til the end.
ReplyDeleteSimply beautiful.
Thank you Beverley. Yes, it is a gift I think to be able to say goodbye at the end. I did with both my mother and my stepdad. This is a different kind of goodbye really.
DeleteLinda, thank you for sharing these difficult moments with us. A painful moment, but one made richer by your realization to treasure it! And you captured it so well in these few words.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Ramona. I appreciate your words!
DeleteThis leaves me nearly speechless, and fearful of saying something stupid. :) I have experienced a lot of loss, and wish I had moments like this - documented, recorded, timeless and priceless - something to hold on to. My greatest fear around those I have lost is not honoring them well, not honoring the feelings that I had for them, the vivid memories fading... your poem is such a strong reminder of why I now write so vivaciously about times I spend with loved ones... in hopes that if I ever need to, the memories will be there for me to hold onto without the fear of wondering how accurately I am pulling them back into my mind. Thank you for sharing such beauty.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jen. This touches me that someone should see the need for writing and capturing the moments. I love that you do that too.
Delete