In Memorium: Does It Ever ...

In Memorium: Does It Ever

... get easier? Will these sudden
showers of tears ever stop falling?
Will this hole in my heart ever get
filled? My eyes are raining, even
now - my chest has been cracked
wide open - I would like to know

when

I will stop marching to a mourner's
song; when the sun will shine again;
when to stop digging through past
regrets and what ifs and start living.
Dare I ask, or is that against the
rules? Does grief get any easier?

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman

In Memorium: Your Shirt

In Memorium: Your Shirt

... Your shirt, wrapped
around my shoulders
brings little comfort,
because it isn't y o u r

arms enveloping me
in a hug. I wear it,
anyway - I am trying
to recall the sensation

of your big, strong arms
holding me close to you
- I miss them. I'm scared,
Daddy, scared that I

will forget - help me in
order to remember - that
is why I'm wearing your
shirt. It helps you help me .....

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman

In Memorium: For My Daddy, Four Poems

In Memorium: For My Daddy, Four Poems

*I love you, I miss you*

DADDY'S T-SHIRT

Being apart, it doesn't
feel like it when I put on
Daddy's T-shirt. It bridges
the distance between us with
sleeves that are too big. It
doesn't matter --I feel his
comforting hug from this far
away. When sadness comes, all
I have to do is put on
his shirt to know he misses
me as much as I miss him ...

(c) 2007, Karla Dorman

DADDY PASSED AWAY TODAY

Our big strong Daddy passed away
today. He didn't suffer -- but his
daughters, his son, have broken
hearts. Keep us in your prayers --

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman (5/28)

BUCKEYE TREE, FELLED

My big strong tree has been felled,
leaving me out in the storm. The
branches that once provided shade
and security, that once reached down,
surrounding me with love, are suddenly
gone --- and I'm scared, lost and alone,
a little girl without her Daddy --- and I
don't know what to do. What do I do??

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman

DADDY, I MISS YOU - WHERE DID YOU GO?

It's hard to believe you are
no longer here. I expect to
hear your voice, telling me
everything's okay, that you
love me; I expect to feel
your arms around me; and
then I wake up -- I can't
believe you're gone. I miss
your presence in my life --
much more now than ever.

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman

POEM: Just Getting Started

The sun, white-hot, burns
the blue from the sky,
until all is red
with fire. Hurts to breathe.
Each inhalation
a scythe scraping lungs
dry, as void as the
air, outside. And it's
just getting started:
the h e a t of summer.

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman.

D.rough.t

The sky, mean today, blue
pressing down on sunburned
shoulders. No clouds to hide
behind; no moisture to
slake this thirst ... what I would
give for a cracking storm
full of thunder and rain!
Instead, I'm singing b l u e
in the redness of my
pain: the crops, dead and gone;
Earth's children, nearly so.
My mouth is desert-dry -
it longs for relief - I
remember water. Once .. . ..

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman.

9 Years Later: OKC Tornado, Remembered

A monster came to Earth,
Nature gone wrong. It swept
the comfort of our lives
into its maw, leaving
behind bare foundations

and broken memories,
ones recalled with instant
clarity every time
the sky turns black. England's
warning to "Get below

ground" was lost in the roar:
sirens died, mid-wail. The
only screaming we heard
was fear: our own. We were
lucky: we survived. Some

weren't -- nine years later,
remembered. We pray it
never happens again -
but it will. The monster

still hungers. Ask those who've
seen his appetite for
destruction, who've heard the
awful sounds growling from
the belly of the beast .. . ...

(c) 2008, Karla Dorman.