When Your Number Is Up

Posted byChristine BoltonPosted inBlog, LossTags:, , ,

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:

Repress

Dingy

Ephermeral

Sublime

OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day #29 – By the Numbers

Photo by Sean McGee on Unsplash

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Published by Christine Bolton

I have been writing poetry since I was a child and it has helped in the good times and bad times. I am always looking within to find the answers to life's problems and to write thought-provoking poetry and prose. Thanks for checking it out. Christine

20 thoughts on “When Your Number Is Up”

  1. Christine, your poem is amazing. It read like a true story. Surely it has been for a woman as you described.

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    1. Thank you Hélène. You’re so kind 🙂💕 It wasn’t true just something I was thinking about

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