How appreciative I am of your post. We miss our dog. It took two young cats to replace her, but there's still a hole. The line from the poem that got me was "somewhere some women like us will be sitting side by side, facing the water . . . " It's the facing the water. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay/Hampton Roads Harbor and spent a lot of time facing the water with people I love. The Billy Collins poem came to mind, "Carry." I want to carry you/ and for you to carry me/ the way voices are said to carry over water.
Matt, I love that image of sitting by the water with people you love. I grew up on a river and hadn’t put it together that perhaps that is what draws me to the poem. And the Billy Collin’s lines are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.
Julie, thanks for the acknowledgment. It was so good to read that poem again. It's one of the best for this moment.
I also loved what you said about your dog--that your daughter said you caved quickly. And also this: "She is an anxious weirdo about ceiling fans and nail trims, but we all have our quirks. She has chewed up a few items, most memorably a brand new study Bible, one of my journals, and a cardboard box with two packages of miso ramen soup mix inside it, but she is still a good dog."
Love the specificity of your description. And Ii feel like I know your dog already. Dogs are the best.
Your timing is God-given, Julie: how I needed the combination of Twyla and "Albany Bulb" right now. (It's always this way with your posts.) Thank you for something life-giving and heart-smiling in the midst of the horrors.
How appreciative I am of your post. We miss our dog. It took two young cats to replace her, but there's still a hole. The line from the poem that got me was "somewhere some women like us will be sitting side by side, facing the water . . . " It's the facing the water. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay/Hampton Roads Harbor and spent a lot of time facing the water with people I love. The Billy Collins poem came to mind, "Carry." I want to carry you/ and for you to carry me/ the way voices are said to carry over water.
Matt, I love that image of sitting by the water with people you love. I grew up on a river and hadn’t put it together that perhaps that is what draws me to the poem. And the Billy Collin’s lines are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.
Julie, thanks for the acknowledgment. It was so good to read that poem again. It's one of the best for this moment.
I also loved what you said about your dog--that your daughter said you caved quickly. And also this: "She is an anxious weirdo about ceiling fans and nail trims, but we all have our quirks. She has chewed up a few items, most memorably a brand new study Bible, one of my journals, and a cardboard box with two packages of miso ramen soup mix inside it, but she is still a good dog."
Love the specificity of your description. And Ii feel like I know your dog already. Dogs are the best.
Yes they are. Thanks for sharing the poem, Laura. May you have a good dog and good poems in your day today.
Your timing is God-given, Julie: how I needed the combination of Twyla and "Albany Bulb" right now. (It's always this way with your posts.) Thank you for something life-giving and heart-smiling in the midst of the horrors.
Thanks as always for reading, SarahLee. Peace to you today.