Caren Krutsinger | + Follow Poet |
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I Can'T Today

I saw the obituary on a Monday eve.
Her services had been last week, our own little Neve.
A woman I had run into many times before,
She had asked me to lunch two or three times, maybe more.

I always said, "I can't now, I am too busy today."
Never knowing she needed me in every kind of way.
She had seemed a bit overwhelmed last Monday morn.
She'd ask me to lunch, but I had a dress that was torn.

She had a great smile, she was at school a lot more than most.
She was self-less, and seemed happy, always smiling, never a boast.
I barely knew her, because she was fairly new in town.
Her family had only been eight or nine years around.

I called her husband to give him my sympathies and regret.
"She always wanted a friend," he told me, "But they just never met."
"She hanged herself in the garage, with a noose and a chair.
"It was last Monday, after her shift at the school fair."

I had no words of comfort I could give her husband or me.
That was the day she'd invited me to coffee or out to tea.
I told her I was too busy, and she had smiled sadly.
I had no idea it would hit her this terribly badly.

I felt anguish that I had spoken to Neve on her very last day.
I wish I had taken some time, to help her dream, hope, or pray.
I've learned my lesson, and I've learned it well, thanks to Neve O'Dine.
The next time a newbie needs my attention,  I will carve out some time.

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Gershon Wolf Date: 5/13/2018 10:59:00 PM Every 'interruption's' an opportunity; every invitation a request of the heart...Your poignant write reminds us all to respond accordingly every time. Thank you for sharing this tragic, yet meaningful-going-forward, narrative. ~ Gershon Login to Reply Caren Krutsinger Date: 5/14/2018 6:33:00 AM You are ever so welcome. It could have been a lot more gruesome, but I tried to be tasteful.

Susan Ashley Date: 5/13/2018 8:51:00 PM A poignant poem, Caren, on the lost opportunity of friendship and the grief and heartbreak over a life lost. You express the the tragedy with beautifully sad emotional depth that captivated me throughout till your last six words; 'I will carve out some time.' - a powerful and moving write, my friend. Warmest wishes. ~Susan Login to Reply Caren Krutsinger Date: 5/14/2018 6:33:00 AM Thank you Susan; not an easy poem to write, but one I felt compelled to write.

Robert Pettit Date: 5/13/2018 6:44:00 PM A very sad write. You have great descriptiveness and suitable rhyming in each verse. Overall, a quality write. Login to Reply Caren Krutsinger Date: 5/13/2018 7:03:00 PM Thank you, Robert. It has a basis in fact, and often times the facts are a very sad write.