A little over two years ago, I posted this poem about my friend K’s cancer diagnosis. It subsequently appeared in an anthology that raised funds for a UK charity.
Today, we received the sad news that she had passed away.
Rest in peace, K.
Category: poetry
adding up
This has been a spring of losses and endings and changes.
It’s getting to be a lot to handle at once.
The most difficult was Grandma’s death on March 22nd, just as spring began. We have been grateful for the support of family and friends and are especially grateful for the committal service that we were able to celebrate last week. There will continue to be a lot of work in the coming months – emotional work, certainly, but also physical work as we deal with the rest of the things she left behind and with decisions and paperwork that come with settling her financial affairs.
The week before Grandma’s committal, T and I were singing at the funeral of Father James, a loss that brings echoes of the loss of our parish years ago.
And just after we returned from the committal, we received news of the death of Paco’s only remaining sibling after years of decline with Alzheimer’s disease. He was the third of Paco’s siblings to die from Alzheimer’s as their father had; three other siblings died too young to have developed it. At 91, with no symptoms, Paco is well beyond the age when any of his affected family members developed them. Still, it is bittersweet to have lost all of his brothers and sisters.
There are other changes happening, too, with T moving home to job search after finishing her master’s degree and with continuing family medical issues.
Although it is difficult and stressful, I am okay.
Most of the time.
I do rely on family and friends for support. Recently, when I was feeling overwhelmed, I called my college roommate, just to talk things through. It helps so much. Another thing for which to be grateful.
Eleven years ago, I experienced another spring of loss – the death of my friend Angie, the loss of our long-time parish, and the final months of my father-in-law’s battle with cancer. The aftermath of these losses has continued through the following years and this spring’s losses echo and intensify them in complex ways.
I know that, despite the pain and difficulties, there is the opportunity to grow in wisdom, compassion, and strength in response.
I hope to do that.
Meanwhile, I am trying to be supportive of others and gentle with myself. I am trying not to feel guilty about all the things I am not doing as I would like, including blogging and poetry.
Personal growth can only help my poetry.
It’s possible that my blogging practice may evolve, too. I am spending nearly all my blogging time for now on writing. It feels strange not to be spending hours reading and commenting, but limits of time and brainpower make that the way things have to be. I had thought this would be a short-term mode of operation, but am discovering that this constellation of losses and new responsibilities is likely to cause some lasting re-organization of time, effort, and priorities.
I don’t know where the path will lead or how many other detours or derailments are in store. I remain profoundly grateful to all who are accompanying me along the way, whether personally or digitally.
I would be adrift without you.
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SoCS: project delay
And I am not getting much done these last few months…
There have been a lot of losses with a lot of aftermath.
I’ll get back to my collection at some point…
Wish me luck.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “book.” Come join us! Find out how here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/06/03/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-416/
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Binghamton Poetry Project – Spring 2016
On April 15, as I was preparing for dress rehearsal for the Binghamton Philharmonic concert (https://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/brahms-beethoven-and-binghamton/), the Binghamton Poetry Project was holding the Spring 2016 reading and anthology release. I was not available to read due to rehearsal, but here are my poems from the anthology. Enjoy!
*****
After May, 1982
by Joanne Corey
At baccalaureate, we
Smith women were instructed
to hire good help.
It was the only way,
we were told,
to “have it all.”
I didn’t do it,
didn’t want to “have it all” –
at least, not all at once.
I gave up paid work
for the unpaid work
of caretaking
of a younger generation
and an older generation
of a school
of a church
of a community.
Feeling judged
for not making money
gaining promotions
being an example
of a modern
educated woman
for my daughters
Deflecting comments
about wasting my education
my brain
wearing my Phi Beta Kappa key
for courage in challenging times
Taking years to come
to see my choice
was right for me…
How different would it have been
had our college president said,
“Here is your life,
now what will you do with it?”
*****
Tanka: Hundred-Year Flood
by Joanne Corey
The red house crouches
behind a wall of sandbags
as the water sneaks
forward like a thief to steal
all that the family owns.
*****
Vestal
by Joanne Corey
Names tend to stick.
It’s Five Corners,
even though now
it is only four.
It’s the Old Junior High
even though it hasn’t
been used as a school
for decades.
It’s Main Street
even though it isn’t
filled with shops.
Vesta is goddess
of home and hearth.
Our one-and-a-half story
cedar-shake Cape, tucked
near Choconut Creek,
is what matters,
what makes a home-
town.
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Marilyn McCabe’s Glass Factory
I’m pleased to share the news that poet-friend and fellow Boiler House Poet Marilyn McCabe has a new book of poems available. This link: https://marilynonaroll.wordpress.com/glass-factory/ will take you to her blog post about it with videos of her reading two of the poems, link to a readers’ guide, and more! Ordering information is included in the post, so go there right now and check it out!
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Fridays are Magical: First Grade Poetry Workshops
This evening, in the adult version of Binghamton Poetry Project, I wrote my first tanka. Here, I am sharing the precious post about some of the first grade poets who are loving, learning, and creating with the BPP.
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SoCS: food!
It’s Saturday morning and I just now looked at Linda’s prompt. I was so excited that the prompt was “food”! Maybe Linda is psychic, because it is exactly what I would like to write about today.
B and I are on a getaway for a few days and food was a very important part of the plan. On Thursday, we travelled to Deerfield, Massachusetts to stay at the Old Deerfield Inn. We had never stayed there before because it is pretty pricey, but we had discovered that on a weeknight in the off-season, it was affordable.
We had, however, eaten at their restaurant, Champney’s, before, and that was a big factor in deciding to go there. B had chicken piccata , which was a special that night, and I had a steak and ale pot pie, which was made with a local beer and local root vegetables. It was totally amazing. And very hot, because it came baked in its own little iron deep-dish. It took a long time to eat because it stayed very hot.
One of the reasons we love to eat at Champney’s ,though, is that they make an excellent Indian pudding. As people who read Top of JC’s Mind may recall, we have a thing for Indian pudding. It’s a tradition in B’s family and I have even written poetry about it! (Poems here, here, and here with recipe here.) Being pretty full after our main course, B and I savored a serving of Indian pudding together. Amazing!
Like most inns, breakfast in the morning was part of the deal. I had fresh local yogurt with fruit and homemade granola and a half order of French toast with local maple syrup. B had French toast with scrambled eggs. Then, we ambled out for the day.
We were heading to Lenox and went via Northampton, where I attended Smith College. We had some lovely soup in Thorne’s market – potato leek for me and sausage lentil for B – but then moved on to the real place I want to eat – Herrell’s Ice Cream. Herrell’s was new to Northampton when I was at Smith in the late ’70s – early ’80s and makes astonishingly good ice cream, or, as New Englanders are wont to say, wicked good. I chose malted vanilla, which is one of my all-time favorites. I was afraid B, who is lactose intolerant, would have to settle for sorbet, but they had a couple of “no-moo” flavors, so B got to have peanut butter no-moo. Yum!
We proceeded to Lenox to stay at the Cornell Inn, where we have often stayed on getaways. We had made a dinner reservation at Alta, one of our favorite places in Lenox. B and I shared a salad that featured candied pecans and fried Brie and moved on to our main courses. I had trout, which was excellent. B thoroughly enjoyed pork cheeks braised in cider and served over squash and other seasonal vegetables. If it weren’t a Friday in Lent, I would have sampled it. He said it was great. We wondered if they were really pork cheeks, but I think they must have been as Alta is very particular about all of their menu items.
This morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the Cornell Inn. Breakfast is a highlight of any trip here, as there is always a lovely variety of homemade options. Today’s selection included broccoli fritatta, berry crisp pancakes and cinnamon french toast, mixed berry and oatmeal blackberry muffins, and fruit plate with yogurt on the side. So good!
Now, I am writing this post, but, in a bit, we will check out and head up to Williamstown to stay with a high school friend. Her husband is a (mostly) retired chef, so more great food is on the agenda!
Hope I didn’t make anyone hungry. (I also offer apologies to all my vegetarian friends for rhapsodizing over meat-containing dishes.)
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week was “food”! Yum! Join us! Find out how here: http://lindaghill.com/2016/02/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-2716/
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Share A Poem On Ink and Quill
Thank you, Jennifer, for opening this poetry sharing thread. Friends at Top of JC’s Mind, please join in by visiting Ink and Quill and adding links to your favorite poems.
Share a link here of your favourite poem/s, which you have written or a poem written by a fellow poet. Or both!
A poem/s which may have moved you, or are close to your heart. A poem, you thought about, long after you finished reading it.
I will repost all links.
As you are probably aware. I love poetry. So I can’t wait to read and share your links.
Please feel free to reblog this post!
I want to support my fellow bloggers, by sharing their work.
A small way of saying I appreciate you.
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Poem: Crowning Glory
I’m pleased to announce that Silver Birch Press has published my poem “Crowning Glory” as part of their MY MANE MEMORIES series.
The link is here: https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2016/02/20/crowning-glory-poem-by-joanne-corey-my-mane-memories-poetry-and-prose-series/
Besides the poem, you can enjoy a photo of me taken this month in our yard, featuring my “mane”!
Enjoy! Feel free to comment here, at Silver Birch Press, or on Facebook.
PS I managed to copy the photo! But please read the poem at Silver Birch Press, too.
PPS I already did a post for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday, but this post qualifies, too, so I am adding the pingback here: http://lindaghill.com/2016/02/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-2016/
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cold
The middle of last week, I came down with a cold.
In my younger days, I would have kept going full-tilt and powered my way through – which sometimes worked and sometimes resulted in developing bronchitis or a sinus infection or another not-so-fun complication.
Now, being older and not having so many other people depending on me, I decided to do the wise thing and cancel some of my activities, rest more, eat soup and drink warm beverages, not push myself to work out with my Wii Fit, and generally take care of myself and let B help to take care of me, which, I might add, he does superbly.
I thought I could get well faster and be back to normal strength and activity level in a week.
It’s not quite working out that way.
While I have been able to do more over the last few days, I’m still tired and cold and sniffly and achy and a bit hoarse.
I had hoped to go to poetry open mic tonight. I have been AWOL for months due to travel and other conflicts, so I had hoped to go tonight and read before the next batch of obligations hits.
But, no.
I don’t want to drag myself out in the cold (and possible mixed precipitation) and go on a coughing jag in the little bookstore and mess up the other poets’ readings.
So, I’ll curl up under a throw and rest and try to take it easy for another weekend, hoping to have some voice for chorus rehearsal on Monday. I missed rehearsal last week and can’t afford to miss again.
Don’t I deserve some reward for trying to take better care of myself?
Joanne Corey 