Cortney My Daughter

1985 - 2011

Two years today, at four twenty,

A hard line drawn.
My life was again,


Placed in the forge for a scalding,


Hammered tempered to become,
Damascus steel.
Aged, contoured lined,

Defined...


Trinity a realization of the strength of,
Empty.
The power of,
Now.

The need of preparation.
To handle the scalding ,to hold a edge, sharp and narrow,
To Live...

Not brittle, not brittle, no not brittle,

What have you given today ?
How deep ?
How well fed are your roots ?
Do you have Initiative ?
Creativity ?
A double layer of humor ?

To Choose, to live, to grey, to walk on that line drawn hard on my heart,
Today,
To kiss today.

Author's Note

Smooth waters do not make good Sailors.... a belief of truth.

Reviews

[Through the Gateway]

Placed in the forge for a scalding,

This line spoke to me more than any of the others. Knowing the burning loss, trying to shape it into something useful, something that will no longer hurt. At times we hammer away, and out tears is what we use to cool the steel.

A brilliant write.

[lee von cleef]

Thank you , I pray to stay useful, and to add some Will Rodgers into my soul.....

[Tate Morgan]

I dont imagine to understand the pain .I do however know what it is like ot see it eat away the soul of a friend whose child has died. may you find the peace you seek My friend.

[Tina Kline]

Loss of a loved one so unexpectedly does leave us wounded. A part of us is gone and it hurts. A very creative poem. I enjoyed reading this. You write very well.

[Ken Simm.]

You bent my good friend. You did not break. And you wrote this in honour. I am moved.

[LJW]

My condolences on the loss of your beautiful daughter. As a mother of 4, you wrote about my greatest nightmare, indeed my biggest fear. How would I, could I handle it?

There is no desperation in your words although I am sure you endured many moments of quiet desperation. How miraculous you arrived at the place of steely (excuse the pun, but it fits, yes?) determination, not defeat. The power of now, so important in all our lives at any moment, under any circumstance, now the myopic focus. No looking back, no projecting forward. Yes, my life is thrown into the scalding forge and it hurts like hell but I will emerge tempered, stronger, transformed....to forge (again, the pun fits) ahead.

Know that when you "kiss today", you kiss her.

I am deeply and profoundly moved by this unique tribute to Cortney, and in another real sense, the continuum of life itself.

[lee von cleef]

Thank you, The family ,Mother, the whole, I try to live, I try to add to the whole of life, and find a optimistic, perch, But admittedly some of the limbs are really just nubs.

[Corset]

To handle the scalding ,to hold a edge, sharp and narrow,
To Live...

Not brittle, not brittle, no not brittle,

What have you given today ?
How deep ?
How well fed are your roots ?
Do you have Initiative ?
Creativity ?
A double layer of humor ?

My Mother, My father, My sister, My baby, My grandmother, my cousins...now have these words too. I am so sorry for your loss there are no other words to give, we, will bow our heads and whisper a hello.

[lee von cleef]

Give 'em all a hug. Thank you...

[Corset]

I wish I could , but if they can hear us , I'll have them give your daughter one too, I imagine she misses you as much as we miss them.

[QuietlyCrash]

Beautiful. It almost takes your breath away. This is my first time reading your work and I'm pleasantly surprised. Thank you so much for sharing this piece with us.
-Riley

[lee von cleef]

thank you, You would of loved our little "Barista"

[Astro]

The first thing I notice is the interesting breaks in the lines, that force a slowed pace in its reading. This helps with the absorbing of the meaning of each word or, line. I applaud this style as it works well, to set mood and give effect. The description of an event being akin to a forging of oneself like demascus steel is a great way to identify with the effects of a life-shattering event. These things allow for a great impact in your final lines about "choosing" to walk this way or, that way regardless of how you feel. Kudos for a great write.

[h d e rushin]

"To choose, to live, to grey, to walk on that line drawn hard on my heart,
Today,
To kiss today."

this final stanza has the angels weeping. written with great facility-something that makes an action or course of conduct easier.and there is no easy way to write this.

dana

[ríða andlit]

Dearest lee, I, too, know the anguish of losing a child. We all grieve in our own ways. They say time heals... does it? I don't think so. I sometimes have moments where I feel I will never be healed, but, with each passing year, it does get easier and the iron with which her memory strikes me has seemed to grow from scalding to warm. Sometimes, especially around her birthday, it heats up or, like last night, when I heard a song I had attributed to her passing for the first time in years, the iron burned hot. Time does not heal, no, but it softens the blow and cools the iron. For that, I am grateful.

I have no words enough to offer you in comfort. No one does. From one mother to another, I can only say you are not alone and, with the passing of time, the iron, somehow, really does cool.