She came to visit on a peaceful saturday evening. Meandering conversations about everyday things, morphed into events of childhood and upbringing.
The traumas and dramas, the love and conflicts. Families and their decisions made out of love, that is truly misunderstood by the young minds they were meant to shield.
Then came reflections on this life changing sorrow. There are moments caught between heart-beats, that goes the way of time. There is no changing it. There is no revisiting it And its one true quality is that it is everlasting.
This was one of those moments. After the revelation it just hung in the air.
a mother’s grief –
in remembrance
through decades, she kept
the last T-shirt he wore,
bullet hole intact
Pat R
2/16/20
For dVerse Poets Pub where Kim is hosting and the phrase to be incorporated in the response is
” There are moments caught between heart-beats”
thoughts and entanglements 
Ah, this is satisfying, the kind of conversation only possible with someone you’ve known and loved for many, many years. The ability to range widely and deeply. And this line resonates with me: “After the revelation it just hung in the air.”
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That is true. Kinda like family therapy. Thanks for reading.
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oh that was a very painful ending to read, something that held her child at the very end but also something that brought his end, bitter sweet story so beautifully crafted
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Thank you Gina. It is a rough ending, I agree.
Pat
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most welcome Pat, a story that touches me deeply and you wrote it with kindness and grace
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Good to hear, thanks again.
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Heartfelt and emotional.
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Thank you so much.
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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Oh Pat…this made me gasp, and you wrote it so tenderly, with beauty in the sorrow. Well done.
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Thank you Rhen, appreciate the kind words.
Pat
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From my heart to yours, you’re most welcome.
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PS: I was going to post this later, but I’ll share it with you now–in case you’ve never read it: “Sorrow was like the wind. It came in gusts, shaking the woman. She braced herself.”
~ Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, South Moon Under
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There is a deep story behind this creative work Pat.
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Yep, you’re right about that!!
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well constructed, pain imparted … we need a sequel please?
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😊 will keep that in mind. Thank you very much.
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thanks, appreciate that!
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Whether with a mother, daughter, sister, other blood relative or old school friend, get-togethers after a long time will always result in those meandering conversations that start in the evening and go on well into the early hours of morning. They are so familiar. I meandered with you, Pat, and was intrigued by the ‘traumas and dramas, the love and conflicts’ and the ‘decisions made out of love’. I was not expecting the bullet hole!
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Yes, that end was a twister I agree. Glad you enjoyed the read Kim.
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Yes, I agree with Kim. There are hints of a whole family history here but the ending took me by surprise too. Yet it’s the kind of story that will resonate with so many, especially mothers, even if the details will differ.
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Yes, it’s a very human story. And it could’ve happened to anyone, making it very relatable.
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It is.
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Heartfelt. The tanka at then end of the narrative really got me. 🙂
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A jolt, right.
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I love how you used the poem, in the end, to tell the heartbreaking story, while you let the prose set the mode of the storytelling. Some stories you will only share with those that are closest.
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True. Thank you Björn. Glad you like it.
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Excellent write, Pat.
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Thank you.
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