The Storm of 2016
–My poem, The Storm of 2016, was chosen for this fall’s New River Valley Voices (NRVV) competition. I (pictured center) read it at last week’s NRVV program, which also included the work of the above writers of prose and poetry.
The juncos stand precariously on snow
They can’t feel the ground beneath them
Their black bodies hop like clipped silhouettes
as if they floated to the top from the underworld
How long will I live in a house of rooms
fretting that that power will go out?
Counting the days between my sister’s death
and her birthday’s fast approach?
I imagine I’ll light a candle
and study the loom of shadows
I could pull up the blankets over my head
and pretend my bed is a closed casket
In the morning I’ll drop sunflower seeds
to mark a trail in the snow
for the orphans who didn’t fly south
and for the ones who want to come home
I’ll follow yesterday’s footprints
until I’m stopped in my tracks
until I’m lost in blank verse
and make peace with the past
Until I come full circle
watching ghosts
from snowed-in windows
Until I can bravely
invite them inside
______Colleen Redman / Poets United
December 10th, 2017 10:24 am
Inviting the ghosts inside might be a way of healing.
December 10th, 2017 12:04 pm
What a beatuful write. Cold, winter theme, can be known at any time of the year. Birth and death, perhaps the most important things we celebrate? Each make life worth living.
Did you ever see the film,Truly, Madly, Deeply?
December 10th, 2017 12:59 pm
Colleen, this poem really says it all – the grief in counting the days between your sister’s death and her coming birthday. I am so sorry. I love the dropping of sunflower seeds for those who didnt fly south and for those who want to come home. Christmas is such a time of homecoming. Though not everyone makes it any more. I especially love “I follow yesterday’s footprints ….and make peace with the past.” Beautiful.
December 10th, 2017 1:34 pm
This is such a beautiful poem of healing finding your way back from grief.
December 10th, 2017 2:52 pm
This breaks my heart 🙁 the grief of losing your sister and counting the days between her death and coming birthday. I am so deeply sorry for your loss, Colleen.
December 10th, 2017 3:24 pm
Wow, congratulations on having your poem selected. I enjoyed the photo of you with the other poets. As for the poem itself, it really speaks of grief so profoundly. You have given words to something that leave many speechless. Somehow, in the end, we do need to find a way to ‘make peace with the past,’ but the journey is not straight forward.
December 10th, 2017 4:53 pm
An emotionally touching piece of writing. Well done to you
December 10th, 2017 5:09 pm
What a wonderful poem to remember your sister’s death… I think her ghost will be close, no matter what.
December 10th, 2017 5:42 pm
Excellent “Eulogy”.
And a well deserved Congratulations.
December 10th, 2017 8:22 pm
Hauntingly beautiful. I believe your ghosts will find their way home … to your heart.
On a pragmatic note, it must be wonderful to read your work with these other talented poets — what a joy to learn from each other
December 10th, 2017 8:54 pm
What a lovely, plaintive soliloquy. Beautifully written!
December 10th, 2017 9:05 pm
How long will I live in a house of rooms
fretting that that power will go out?.. wonderful writing, well deserved appreciation for your poem.
December 11th, 2017 12:54 am
“Their black bodies hop like clipped silhouettes
as if they floated to the top from the underworld”
I don’t think we can call them back. And I don’t believe we can send away grief, but noting the brokenness and death in other life forms and lighting a candle help in reaching the longest shadows.
December 11th, 2017 2:17 am
“I’ll follow yesterday’s footprints”…I can Feel this line.
December 11th, 2017 9:17 pm
Such a beautiful write Colleen–congratulations and well-deserved!