Comments on: Not Since Then

By: jan

jan — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 02:08:22 +0000

unfortunately i have known too many young women who have had to bravely battle cancer and leave their husbands and children. it is a picture that just breaks my heart.

By: OneMoreBeliever

OneMoreBeliever — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:28:02 +0000

a lovely tale of remembered love… it is good to remember…

By: preethi

preethi — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:57:18 +0000

this was so poignant..lovely And So I quit

By: WillThink4Wine

WillThink4Wine — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:09:07 +0000

Oh, so bittersweet, this poem. I knew the sorrow at ‘but tonight’
and did not want to read it, but had to. I feel the heaviness of each movement he makes as he forces himself to return home again. So beautiful, this love.

By: Raven

Raven — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:04:33 +0000

What an exquisite, painful poem, so rich in love and sorrow both. Beautiful.

By: mariacristina

mariacristina — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:55:39 +0000

What a joy to have that kind of love in one’s life. A bittersweet poem.

By: missmays

missmays — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:28:54 +0000

wow, this is powerful. emotional. tangible. its almost as though i’m there, feeling the loss and sympathizing with the final outcome. i especially like the line
‘guarding my safe passage
they sway — as if to celebrate
that I am back again’
So vivid, and descriptive of the lover at home waiting…
Thanks for this beautiful poetry

By: Bluebethley

Bluebethley — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:41:28 +0000

I read your poem a few days ago, and it stays with me for the strong emotion and very personal statement of love. The poem doesn’t seem to be so much about quitting as affirming what once was the center for your narrator’s life. The beautiful descriptions of coming home are truly blasted out by the loss of one’s own true love. I hope to avoid experiencing this for a long time, even as I know that we must face these kinds of losses, especially as we become older. One question: If the writer writes from experience, then the reader empathizes even more closely. If the poem comes from invention, is the poem any less “real”? Not for this reader. Thank you for posting a beautifully evocative poem.

By: Pam

Pam — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:48:51 +0000

I love the detail you provide in the approach to home. Your focus on hearing and feeling melt right into the emotion of the homecomings. Very nice.

I see that you chose to use the familiar for Douglas Fir; do you find this successful? Do you get feedback that readers and/or listeners can’t figure out what you mean?

Your poem made me hungry for the northwest forests. I guess I’ll get my fix when I visit next month.

By: SandyCarlson

SandyCarlson — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:06:27 +0000

You take me on this journey with you–literally and figuratively and my heart stops in a moment of silence for the loss in the end. Wonderful poem. Thanks for signing onto One Single Impression this week.

By: gautami tripathy

gautami tripathy — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:53:45 +0000

In this sounds comes alive too. Truly awesome.. end of the world for me

By: Rambler

Rambler — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:47:59 +0000

Bob..

“warm and soft – dressed in something that will whisper
welcome home my love –
I’ve missed you”

you know the simple words, speak a lot..I would love to return to such a home.

By: Tammie

Tammie — Mon, 26 May 2008 05:49:08 +0000

I am moved by the sweet love and then the loss leaves me sad and with a feeling of loneliness, sad loneliness. A powerful poem.

By: paisley

paisley — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:03:22 +0000

very touching… but he has more beautiful memories to reflect on in this instance than many will amass in a life time,, and for that,, i know he is grateful…..

By: Amarettogirl

Amarettogirl — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:22:59 +0000

And I though the last poem was sad…oh what a painful punch this gave my heart!! ‘not since you lost your battle brave’ that line was very revealing to me and truly brought the agony home. Thank you for sharing this wonderful writing that can evoke such strong emotions with SS.

By: Granny Smith

Granny Smith — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:12:48 +0000

This is rich in imagery, especially of the sounds, and heart-wrenching in its concluding verses.

By: Image&VerseToo

Image&VerseToo — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:44:04 +0000

Hi Latree -

Given this is poetry, you have license to create your own interpretation.

Mine might be that the woman has died, perhaps from cancer — certainly something of some duration that she had to bravely battle, and that also allowed her husband to be there at the end — to hold her one final time. And now he is alone, and missing here dearly.

By: latree

latree — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:22:49 +0000

why does she stop waiting, what kinda battle that made her so?