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Ahead of Schedule
by
Patricia Williams


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Children are a gift
– a gift you can’t keep –
one you hold a single season.

We prepared for the moment
– a moment, in some far tomorrow –
when you would leave.

We just didn’t think
tomorrow would happen
 –  so fast.


From Midwest Medley – Places & People, Wild Things & Weather (Kelsay Books/Aldrich Press, 2018).
Used with the author's permission.

 



Patricia Williams and her husband live in central Wisconsin amid farm fields and abundant wildlife. She began writing poetry after retiring from 32 years of teaching Art and Design. Poetry, she feels, is painting with words, both using the same design principles. Patricia's work appears in many journals and anthologies, and she is the author of The Port Side of Shadows, a poetry chapbook about her travels, and Midwest Medley: Places & People, Wild Things & Weather, which received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association. Her most recent book is Rejection to Acceptance: 57 Poems That Finally Made It, a collection of poems with commentary. All of the poems in the book were eventually published, but were initially rejected--three, four, even five times. "It's the old theme of ...If at first you don't succeed," says Patricia. "I am a determined (stubborn!) person."

         



Post New Comment:
antoinette:
This made me smile, but it is an arrow through the heart nonetheless.
Posted 08/21/2018 08:59 AM
Mary Lou Taylor:
Wait until the great grandchildren come. Our two have bonded. Seven and two. He reads books to her. This poem brings it all to mind. I'm reading the comments below and find them all so true.
Posted 08/17/2018 05:08 PM
Patricia Williams:
Thank you, Jayne and all, for the kind words....know they are greatly appreciated.
Posted 08/17/2018 05:05 PM
michael escoubas:
This poem is a gift,Patricia. So true as we grandparents treasure our precious grandsons/daughters as gifts so soon out the door!! Beautiful photo Jayne--lovely granddaughter.
Posted 08/17/2018 04:07 PM
rhonasheridan:
Yes alas - BUT--bevore it ever seemed possible - along come the grandchildren!
Posted 08/17/2018 12:41 PM
wordartdjc:
Such a deep 'feeling' poem. I admire the depth of its simplicity.
Posted 08/17/2018 09:50 AM
cscoville:
I am always amazed at how a good poet can distill a big truth into a few lines. Ms. Williams has certainly accomplished that with this poem.
Posted 08/17/2018 09:49 AM


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