This is a re-post from last year
when I had just arrived on WordPress.
Today is the 8th anniversary of my dad’s death.
I think he would have liked my poems
Through The Wood
I could see through the wood and brass,
his body cold, lifeless.
Seafaring man fighting for country,
raising three children,
ministering prayers.
I search persistently for lost life,
its fullness, its vibrancy.
Maybe it’s in the strange flower
I found in the garden,
the one I know I didn’t plant,
or in the poem that writes itself
seamlessly, despite me.
Life not extinguished – transposed.
journeyintopoetry 
May 05, 2012 @ 12:43:04
Lovely Christine. They’re still with us in other ways 🙂
May 06, 2012 @ 12:43:01
Thank you – yes they are, I do believe that 🙂
Christine
May 05, 2012 @ 13:48:41
Perhaps he helps you write your poems!
I love this:
“Maybe it’s in the strange flower
I found in the garden,
the one I know I didn’t plant,
or in the poem that writes itself
seamlessly, despite me.”
Blessings, Christine!
xx Angela
May 06, 2012 @ 12:44:04
Thank you Angela!
I like to think he does help me, it’s a lovely thought
Love Christine xx
May 05, 2012 @ 15:05:08
A most fine literary achieve is this poetic ode to your dad! I especially love “the flower I didn’t plant”! Such a gift!
May 06, 2012 @ 12:45:28
Thank you so much Rose!
He is still very near to me I just know it 🙂
Much Love
Christine xx
May 06, 2012 @ 06:06:18
No doubt you can see him smiling at such a loving tribute.
Léa
May 06, 2012 @ 12:46:30
Thank you Lea!
Yes I can! He had the most wonderful smile and you have made it appear vividly before me 🙂
May 07, 2012 @ 05:42:30
Hi Christine,
He must have been lovely as I can feel the warmth of smile and perhaps the warmth between you both all the way over here in France. 🙂
Léa
May 06, 2012 @ 15:52:53
Beautiful, Christine! The poem that writes itself – I just love that line! And a wonderful walk into the brief thoughts of the afterlife and those around us that pass through our minds in moments of quietness. Lovely! xxx
May 06, 2012 @ 17:06:11
Thank you so much Angel(a)
I am often walking into thoughts of my dad – he was and is an inspiration to me 🙂
Much love
Christine xx
May 06, 2012 @ 20:07:12
Oh Christine, this is wonderful and touching. I love the idea of life being transposed. Thanks for sharing this one.
May 07, 2012 @ 15:45:57
Thank you so much Emma
Christine
May 06, 2012 @ 23:12:14
very special and beautiful poem Christine. You have a gift, your heart pours words with such tenderness. Love, Linda
May 07, 2012 @ 15:46:39
Thank you Linda, this is a wonderful and warm comment
Christine
May 07, 2012 @ 05:32:46
Hi Christine
this is still as lovely as it was last September 🙂 the memory and the flower…
Love and hugs xx
May 07, 2012 @ 15:48:09
Thank you Ina!
I had only just got to know you back then! Seems we’ve known each other for ever now 🙂
Love and hugs xx
May 07, 2012 @ 15:24:53
Exactly. 🙂 They stay with us don’t they? And we see them in God’s beautiful green earth. Love it Christine, well done.
May 07, 2012 @ 15:49:25
Thanks so much Pete!
I really appreciate your comment 🙂
Christine
May 07, 2012 @ 20:36:42
This is so nice, Christine. I love thinking about that strange flower!
May 08, 2012 @ 10:03:00
Thank you so much Sandy. Yes, things pop up in the garden and I think “I wonder where that came from!” 🙂
Christine xx
May 07, 2012 @ 23:48:08
Oh, this is beautiful, Christine – and I love that last line. (Losing a dad is hard – I still miss mine, but know he’s still nearby somehow.)
May 08, 2012 @ 10:03:58
Thank you Betty. Yes, I am sure they are always nearby; I feel it a lot sometimes 🙂
Love Christine xx
May 08, 2012 @ 12:14:54
That last line is beautiful.
May 08, 2012 @ 16:31:45
Thank you so much for visiting! And for this lovely comment.
I will pop over and have a look at your blog soon
PS I have a daughter called Ruth 🙂
May 09, 2012 @ 01:20:01
I think he would be proud!
May 09, 2012 @ 09:17:16
Thank you for this warm comment, it is much appreciated 🙂
Christine
May 09, 2012 @ 17:36:22
Beautiful and such a wonderful tribute to your Dad, Christie. I’m sure he would be proud of you . I’m sure those who are gone are always still near.
love and hugs, Francina xx
May 09, 2012 @ 17:39:53
Thank you Francina – I do feel him very near.
He died beautifully, if that’s possible, winking at us! 🙂 It was simply his time, he was 92.
xx
May 10, 2012 @ 18:30:05
Oh, what a special tribute to your father, Christine. It touched me deeply…I lost my Dad 26 years ago (April 4th) and this poem reached into my heart. Writing is all about connecting…to our own experiences…and also to others’.
I’m sure your father would’ve loved your poetry! XO Diane
May 11, 2012 @ 12:46:11
Thank you so much Diane.
I feel the years do maybe soften the blow a little, but not much.
I do hope he is “reading” my poems from somewhere or other 🙂
Much love
Christine xx
May 16, 2012 @ 02:34:44
Ethel and I partially started our wordpress blog in order to keep Kevin’s name, at least sometimes, alive on the Internet. He so loved the Internet we thought that this might be something that would help us live a little easier in the face of his death. The year and a half since he died is not so very long, and, as you say, you yearn
…for lost life,
its fullness, its vibrancy.
But, of course, that’s not the way it works. Is it?
The irony for Ethel and I is that wordpress has become important to both of us: The friends we’ve met, the poetry, the art… We measure out how we share Kevin’s photographs since they are limited in number, and we won’t have any more, but we publish something every day. By trying to honor him we have ended up finding honor in all kinds of places and even a certain level of fulfillment.
Thanks for this poem, Christine. Its sadness resonates with both Ethel and I, but there is more to it than sadness. There is the essence of your Dad’s spirit in the way you write about him, and we honor that too.
May 16, 2012 @ 10:33:45
Thank you Thomas. This is a truly lovely comment, heartfelt and very warm.
I think it is wonderful how you keep Kevin here with all of us to share his great talent. I can’t begin to imagine your pain but it’s so good to know that you have found “a certain level of fulfillment”. You certainly do honour him in all your posts on here and to me he seems very much alive because of that.
Christine
May 18, 2012 @ 21:04:55
Hi Christine,
I hope you are taking it easy and your hand is getting the rest it needs.
I think this is a most beautiful tribute to your father. I’m sure he would indeed like your poems and be proud of the courage you display and how far you’ve come on Word Press since you started.
I do believe those we love live on in our memories, like your wonderful closing lines “life not extinguished-transposed.”
I also like your lines about the flower. It’s a truism I’ve experianced myself that certainly at that moment brings comfort and reasurance.
I know I’m very glad for having come to know you and your wonderful poetry.
Take good care and rest well!
Thank you for sharing again such a beauitful poem!
(((BIG WARM HUGS)))
with much love
Tikarma
xoxoxo
May 19, 2012 @ 09:19:38
Tikarma,
What a lovely surprise! I really didn’t expect a comment from you at this point in your time so thank you very very deeply for this. So in return I want to reply!:) I know ! I am clock watching to make sure I don’t go over my “time on computer” limit but this lovely comment warranted a reply.
I hope everything goes well for you with your up and coming challenge and I think about you lots.
Lots of love and
(((BIG WARM HUGS)))
Christine xx
Jun 18, 2012 @ 18:47:53
when we are still, listening to the wind
thoughts come from the otherside….
I love the softness of those whispers…
I love wrting down the voices that transcends time and space…
Beautiful….
Take Care…
)0(
maryrose
Jun 20, 2012 @ 08:44:05
Thnk you so much for this lovely comment 🙂
Christine
Nov 18, 2012 @ 16:20:04
Really lovely – words with a lot of deep feeling in them! Have been feeling a lot like this myself in recent years. It’s good to share these thoughts, makes us feel less alone in it all, and a lot less mad!! 🙂
Nov 24, 2012 @ 16:56:34
Thank you very much for visiting and this lovely comment.
It is definitely good to know when we feel we are not alone in our grief. Shari g always helps me. 🙂
Christine