Widow

[Tinker]

Widow

His ashes spread upon the sea;
she, left to honor and grieve.

Frozen in her inherent duties,
smothered by a cloak of tasks
that transition from death to life,
she utters one last goodbye.

She, left to honor and grieve,
his ashes spread upon the sea.
                    ~~Judi Van Gorder

[dr_con]

Chilling and mighty good.

J

[tonyv]

Judi, I can only imagine this cold light of day, when everything else becomes inconsequential and is, seemingly, stripped away. A somber, eloquent, and dignified work.

With sympathy,

Tony

[goldenlangur]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:36 PM, Tinker said:

Frozen in her inherent duties,
smothered by a cloak of tasks

How mundane the everyday seems in the midst of grief. You’ve caught that mix of the mindless routine and numbing grief so beautifully.

 

Deep sympathy, Tink

 

goldenlangur

[Tinker]

OMG  goldenlangur,   I have so missed you.    Thank you for your empathy.  I am doing OK.  Just starting a new life and wondering what direction to take.   Hearing from you is such a gift.   I hope you are still writing.   Reading your response made my day!  Happy belated birthday by the way.

~~Tink

 

[JoelJosol]

Judi, you demonstrated that the best way for others to see an emotion is just by describing its physical appearance.  I get the impression that the only abstract part "transitioning from death to life" is sort of returning to normal life routines, as if the ritual gesture has closed an era that will just become history, and we are now back to the present. We all know that is the heaviest part. 

[David W. Parsley]

Judi, I am gratified to see that you are able to grapple almost in real time with events in your life, with spontaneous-seeming poetry.  I particularly admire the "found" elements in this poem, such as the refraining spread of ashes.  Please accept my deepest

Sympathy,
- Dave

[mikejewett]

A nice piece to honora loved one. I'd start the poem after the image as the words shouldn't be constrained next to it.