A dear friend and colleague passed away this past week. To honor her memory, I wrote this short free-verse poem. I know very little of poetry, so please forgive the amateur effort. Most of my writing is from the mind. This piece is from the heart.
When darkness comes
It slips in on padded feet
Silently, stealthily, unknown
It comes to us all
Young, old, in-between
And no matter how prepared
We may be
We’re not
Never are
Still we must accept it
The best we can
And move forward
But it leaves a tiny hole
In our heart
A hole that never heals
But that same hole
Lets in light and life
And so we go on
With the memories
We hold precious
Until darkness comes
Once again
Beautiful Lynne so sorry you lost a dear friend.
Thanks so much, Carlene. It was not expected, but still sad. Hope you are well. Love
This is lovely…:)
Thanks, Theresa.
Very nice!
Thanks, Elaine.
This is a great poem. I’m so sorry for your loss. At times like that, writing from the heart (which I think makes up all poetry, btw) helps you experience the grace necessary to find the meaning in it all.
You are so right, Dedra. It’s all about finding meaning. Thanks for your kind words.
What if you wrote more from the heart? Or made one of your “thinking” characters emotive? Could the victim have written poetry? Or make the perp a writer of bad poetry she leaves at the scene? (You already know how to write poetry you think falls short.) Years ago, a surprise loss made me write tribute that began “The Moving Finger comes and takes/One who worked for others’ sakes. Sometimes lines of verse come best seen through tears.
Hmm, good food for thought, Dennis.
This could bring a new stage in your writing (under a different pen name?) Instead of getting better at what you have already mastered, become like a “beginner” again. Think of it like doing things with your non-dominant hand. Want a good motivator? Do it with your lost friend in mind. Have another good cry, dry your tears and ask, “How do I put these feelings for her into a character?” Or another question that may work better for you. You still need to have something uncertain to keep the reader turning the pages. What happens to a woman whose grief brings her to a career or a life change? Can she survive or prevail when suddenly all she thought she knew does not serve her well in the way forward. “Ye must become like little children” could work.
You must be a motivational speaker, Dennis! Or should be.
I was a stand-up trainer in communications skills for about 10 years. Part of that is uplifting people to see themselves as more in order to do more. I am an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs and an Enneagram Four, if you know either of those systems. (If you don’t, I was the youngest of three boys, the one they wanted to be a girl. Birth order research) At our best, we are the creative and inspiring artists and teachers. If you are not an NF (Intuitive Feeler) you may be an Intuitive Thinker (NT) and would probably be more comfortable writing from thoughts than feelings. The NT’s tend to be solitary researchers and inventors.
I think I may be NT. Big on research, yet still pretty sociable.
I looked for your books in my local libraries. None. And you are so highly-reviewed. Are you not available through the mainline book distributors?
I am self-published so no, only the libraries here in San Diego would carry my books. Darn.
I will just have to buy a book, since you are not likely to be in my local, large used book store. Buy direct from you is probably better for you, yes?
Actually, Dennis, Amazon or B&N are the best. Thanks!
Beautiful words~ thankyou~ missing our sweet friend Nancy Taylor and also missing the love of my life who died 7 August 2015 ~ he was my best friend ~ life marches on and we press forward however it seems more difficult lately in these cold winter months~ I have a sense that it just may be as difficult as time passes ~ my life has forever changed by losing such wonderful people~ I am truly blessed by having known them~
Thanks, Nancy. I appreciate your comments.