When Your Number Is Up
She looked to the mountains
With the colors of red and gold
Like her brazen hair
A Celtic look strong and bold
Her husband a seaman
sailing the oceans seven
Like his father before him
a cabin boy at age eleven
Used to her loneliness
she cared for the croft
Sheep to be fed
and hay in the loft
Her feelings repressed
Who would hear her voice
The bairns too young
she didn’t have a choice
The small cottage
never dingy or unclean
A spotless home
A place that was serene
This day her thoughts
were indulgent and sublime
But they were ephemeral
Being in the world of maritime
A storm picking up
Dark clouds gathering
She rounded up the young ones
as the shutters began clattering
Just another day
This woman of resilience
Keeping home fires burning
Until her husband’s deliverance
Marking the calendar
Until his return on leave
Nine more days
Of wool to weave
One week and two days
Until he is home safe and sound
Sadly she did not know
That he had already drowned
Christine Bolton – Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day #29 – By the Numbers
Photo by Sean McGee on Unsplash
This is such a beautiful sad tale. I know you wanted to move away from the dark theme but you do it wonderfully.
Thank you my dear. It’s still sad though isn’t it? 😟
Yes, but the poignancy of your verses is unmatched. ❤️
Yours sweet 😘
How clearly you have set the scene, established the characters, captured the sentiment, and then hit us with that ending.
Thank you! Actually I was headed in another direction and then it just went there 😔
Love when that happens
You have woven a beautiful tale around the prompts. Poignant and sad, but beautiful.
Thank you so much Sadje 🙂💕
My pleasure.
I couldn’t say it better than Hélène and Gina. A lovely poem/tale. Well done!
Thank you Jordy 🙂💕 I really appreciate it.
❤️
this is like the different acts of a play, folding right before me as I read – transcendental and deliberately poignant
Thank you so much Gina 💕🙂
Christine, your poem is amazing. It read like a true story. Surely it has been for a woman as you described.
Thank you Hélène. You’re so kind 🙂💕 It wasn’t true just something I was thinking about
You write with a beautiful creative imagination, heartfelt words, poems.♥️
Thank you my friend. It means a lot 💕
♥️