October arrives, and my thoughts turn to …
(Separate micro-poems about different people)
private cremation –
still seeing your thin body
in that old T-shirt
**********
October and it’s over
or always used to be –
re-living all those deaths
in early Spring. But now
this is the month Letitia died.
**********
A year since you died.
For good practical reasons,
I change the names of
the haiku and tanka groups
we held together – and weep.
Sharing with Weekly Scribblings #39 at Poets and Storytellers United.
Rosemary, sadness ebbs slowly, I am sorry for your loss. This shows through very well here, you formed and worded it perfectly for me. Many funerals are close to being private this year here because of the COVID-19. A former coworker friend of nine died in August and his daughter arranged for a private funeral, even keeping his obituary private.
ReplyDelete..
I'm sorry for your loss too, Jim.
DeleteWhat a powerful combination - they really convey the loss so vividly
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jae.
DeleteOctober seems to be a month of loss for you, Rosemary. Not even the colours and scents can camouflage that. Heartfelt sympathy.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteVery moving... very sad.. the loss of loved ones is crippling sometimes.
ReplyDeleteWell, the writing does help.
DeleteThat is the problem with losing a partner beacuse a part of you dies as well and nothing is ever the same. I lost my wife back in 2010 and it still hurts.
ReplyDeleteAh, I know it well, dear Robin, having experienced the loss of my lovely husband only a little later, in 2012.
DeleteYour selection feels like it was written for our season, since it will soon be Halloween in the Northern Hemisphere. The imagery are strong and sad, heartbreaking in the case of the last one. I remember when you spoke of being updating those groups, I should've known that it wasn't the easiest of tasks.
ReplyDeleteI really like the following three lines, particularly the last--so effective:
I change the names of
the haiku and tanka groups
we held together – and weep.
There was much sentiment, and history, attached to those names.
DeleteBurying my brother's Veteran ashes on friday. Your opening haiku hits home for sure. Thanks
ReplyDeleteOh yes, that would hit home! Sending you loving thoughts for Friday.
DeleteI have my October ghosts too. Some years the veil feels more thin than others.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this whole pandemic thing has had that effect.
DeleteSadness and loss haunts your poems
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday Rosemary
Much💓love
Wishing you happiness too.
DeleteThey are beautiful. I can't say why, but "this is the month Letitia died" is my favorite line. Something so deeply sorrowful. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAh well, that's the most recent death – and the least expected. It was October last year, seems almost yesterday. (I said 'a year' in the last one, but it was actually a few months longer – only I couldn't scan that.) Thanks for your kind comment.
DeleteThank you for sharing, Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading!
DeleteI feel the pain, the loss you describe. Catharsis helps, I believe .....
ReplyDeleteIt does, as much as anything can. Life goes on ... but not the same.
DeleteA moving triple stanza poem... A time of reflection - both happy and sad it is to remember... Hugs
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteYour poems are a reminder that sorrow touches everyone sooner or later. Nobody remains unscathed.
ReplyDeleteAnd the older we get, the more of it there will be!
DeleteWe reach the age of saying goodbye to dear ones. I share your expression of loss, and I weep with you, my friend. Your poetic vignettes are exquisite.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteYes, it's the price of living long – and I hope to continue doing so despite the price.