E’re you should weep in blackened world,
and time a painful sword,
lift thine eyes beyond despair,
above the cloudy skies.
Should torment and trouble,
upon thy shoulders lie,
look further, and see
a rainbow in your clouds
Copyright © GJSmy 2008
 | Glynis, You are the winner of Lillian Brummet's chapbook, Towards Understanding. Congratulations. And your poem "Silent Victory" will publish in Sharing with Writers in the next edition--about mid October |
by Glynis Smy
For Darren Keer Smy and Vivienne Jean Piper
on their wedding day
12th September 2009
Entwined hearts beat as one,
At last life's adventure flows,
Friendship and trust... foundations,
Upon which a marriage grows.
Embrace your unique chemistry
Take love firmly by the hand,
Support the one you've chosen,
United you must stand.
Explore the mind of your lover
And find the inner core,
Take note of the little things,
And set the past behind the door.
Use the quiet moments
To let love's hand unfold,
Never rest your head, to sleep
Exposing shoulder cold.
Truthful love will solid be,
When doubt knocks upon the door,
May open heart and honesty
Be with you evermore.
The love you share together
Will stand the test of time,
When both hearts understand,
The other's beating rhyme.
The path will not be easy,
You may stumble along the way,
When times are hard and life unkind,
Recall your vows declared today.
Take with you our sincerest blessings,
As your married life now starts,
Know that we love and support you,
Two children of our hearts.
Copyright © GJSmy 2009
Copyright © GJSmy 2008
Her daughter, had recently graduated as a nurse and was working at Reading Hospital, was found dead in her West Reading apartment. She had been strangled by her ex-boyfriend.
Kathy, 53, is a resident of Oreland, about 10 miles north of Philadelphia, and an English and creative writing teacher at nearby Cheltenham High School. This year, she completed "Slamming Open the Door," a compilation of more than 40 poems chronicling her experience in the aftermath of her daughter's death.
"Slamming Open the Door" won the Beatrice Hawley Award, given to first publications by her publisher Alice James Books, Farmington, Maine.
"Poetry has been therapeutic for me in this sense: When a tragedy hits, you can create a poem that can be read and understood by others," she said.
"When you become a mother of a daughter who is murdered, you are no longer part of the regular circle, the usual people, the norm," she said. "You become the other."
"With poetry you can reconnect because many people have experienced love and loss in some way. They have shown quiet courage. So many have responded to this book and felt free to address their feelings. It's made me feel a part of the circle again."
Kathy's husband, David, 60, is an editor at The American Poetry Review in Philadelphia. He said his wife's plunge into poetry, waking each morning, not changing out of her nightgown, dutifully sitting at her computer to write, was a purposeful mission. It was something that she needed to do.
"Kathy had to be active," David said. "With the news of Leidy's death, I was barely treading water. In a quieter way, I was just trying to hold everything together, because part of me was numb."
"I'm happy she did it, because it records some of what we went through. But I also think it stands up as fine poetry that others can relate to."
All work on this site is copyrighted to Glynis Smy
