Somewhere in the distance
Donna Downs
Somewhere in the distance a dove coos,
crying out loneliness felt since my grandmother died,
not a cruel, wretched death, but simply a fading away from
grief and her newfound solitude.
How does one bring back the hilly path that led to Grandma’s house,
the homemade fudge with added walnuts,
gathered from the forest and broken on the old marble stone,
the sense of belonging the front porch brought
as chains on the old wooden swings creaked
rocking back and forth and back and forth on summer days gone by
as the doves cooed from the distant wood.
How do we take all we’ve known
and put it in a simple poem on a single page
that will make a difference and bring life to others?
How do we share experiences
with metaphors and similes and strong, vivid verbs
calling others to feel with us at the simple call of a dove?
How can you see my grandma’s thin, wavy hair blowing in the wind
as she stood by the creek running over the gravel road and stared into the void
remembering her own children and their walks in the wood
with the doves cooing in the distance?
They sound sad.
They sound lonely.
But can the birds of the air
really feel sadness and loneliness as we do
when those who held us close slowly fade away
and leave us with nothing but memories that jump to life once again
with the single cry of a bird.
Donna Downs
As a writer, Donna Arthur Downs seeks to tell stories and influence others to do the same. She believes writing about real life illuminates emotions often forgotten or hidden in the recesses of our minds: Each phase of life teaches lessons, and as we age, we can learn from the narratives of others. Her goal is to touch hearts and inspire people to tell their stories so generations to come will understand the value of relationship and seek to create memories worth sharing.