Notes About The Poem
Penned, September 22, 2026/ Human Written
For the International Contest, The Unseen (theme #3)
Sponsor, Sotto Poet
“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what.” — Unknown Quote
What Remains
I stood with my head down as the coffin lowered,
grandma had lived a long life to 94 years:
she is the reason that I am a writer,
always encouraging me to pickup a pen,
("write it dear, write it for the world to read.")
So, I let my painful words drip as blood on white;
well, grandma my words still pour because of you !
But, I was feeling sad, lost and alone,
as I watched that coffin being lowered into the earth:
this was the last person who loved me totally,
and I was a balloon floating endlessly in the sky;
I had no anchor, no safe harbor, I was all alone,
with no mentor, no guiding light to shine the way,
my wings broken and falling out- fluttering away !
I have a sister that I never see and rarely do we speak,
two brothers who never call me;
all living in other cities- distance divides us,
but the ones who truly loved me are gone,
my sister, my dad, my mom, my husband;
all aunties and uncles and others on both sides gone,
and my baby boy- names engraved in stone,
I often travel that cemetery path to their eternal stone !
So, what remains when all love is forever buried,
well, after grandma left and I realized I was alone:
I went through a period of hiding away,
I had to do some deep heart searching,
the first thing was a need to get rid of some people,
people in my life who meant nothing to me;
who added nothing- it was time to clean my house !
And what remained were my best and true friends,
I love that feeling- then, I took inventory:
of what I had in this life that meant something to me,
well, poetry, it has always been part of me,
and hobbies like sketching, gardening- my home, my cat;
and my need for being part of nature and daily hiking !
I means a lot to go on hikes with my best friend Joan,
oh, we have journeyed far, seen so much, taken photos:
shared stories as we walked along the winding paths
she is a sister to me, knows me better than my own;
father taught me nature, mother- strength and courage,
grandma the gift of the pen, friends taught me love !
What else do I need !
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment