Posted in Poetry

Poetry Friday Celebration — Welcome, friends!

   Published Date: November 13, 2014  33 Comments on Poetry Friday Celebration — Welcome, friends!

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Thank you for sharing in the celebration of poetry here today. I’m glad you are here!

As you read this, I am driving across Texas. (It’s so BIG!) But at this very moment of typing, I’m sitting at the kitchen table in my parents’ house, watching my sweet Granny eat breakfast. I have to leave this afternoon, and thus this post will be short as a want to spend as much time with her as possible.

Yesterday we buried my darling, gruff, tenderhearted daddy with a 21-gun salute and lovely playing of taps. (It gets me every time!) I’m relieved he is no longer suffering, but miss him and his wise-cracking ways.

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John Paul Collins: Sept. 28, 1934 – Nov. 8, 2014

Here is one of my favorite poems in tribute to Dad. He and I shared a love of the ocean, and he served in the U.S. Navy, so hymns and poems that feature the sea always remind me of him.

Mr. Linky will curate your contributions today. I look forward to visiting your blogs!

Crossing the Bar

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,)
      And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
      When I put out to sea,
   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
      Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
      Turns again home.
   Twilight and evening bell,
      And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
      When I embark;
   For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
      The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
      When I have crost the bar.

Author: Keri

33 thoughts on “Poetry Friday Celebration — Welcome, friends!”

  1. So sorry to hear about your Dad, Keri. Your words and Tennyson’s poem are a beautiful tribute to him. Have a safe drive home. Sending lots of love, hugs, and prayers your way.

    At Alphabet Soup, I’m all about pie this week, with a review of pie poet Kate Lebo’s new cookbook and her recipe for apple pie (my link goes live Friday morning at 6 a.m. EST).

    Thank you so much for hosting during this sad time.

  2. I’m so sorry for your loss, Keri. I have loved that Tennyson poem for years, and can easily understand why it’s one of your favorites, and why your dad loved it, too. I am sure he met his Pilot face to face.

  3. Hugs and prayers for you and yours, Keri. Such a beautiful poem and tribute.
    [My dad would have been 80 on Nov. 6; our dads were born just a couple of months apart. He was in the Navy as a young man, too!]

    Thank you for hosting today, despite your week – I hope you find many poems to give you comfort and solace. I’m featuring some wonderful haiku from one of our Student Poets of the Month today.

  8. So sorry for your loss. These losses come with mixed blessings. I’m sure you were comforted by family and friends. You know your father no longer suffers. But then the days will come when you want to call, and you know he won’t be there. My prayer is that you find peace on those hardest days. Thanks for hosting in the midst of all this.

  10. Very nice tribute to your dad, Keri – sounds like a wonderful person. I have a number of family members who served in the Navy, so the poem was especially touching.

    I’m offering a short seasonal little poem today at Radio, Rhythm, & Rhyme.

  11. I hold you in my heart tonight. I’m so sorry to hear the news of your father’s passing. Stay strong. Feel our love.

  12. I’m sorry to hear about your loss, Keri, and glad to hear you had this time with your family. It’s a lovely poem for those fathers of that generation isn’t it? You’ve written a poignant tribute for him. Thank you for hosting us today.

  14. I’m sorry for your loss. My he rest in peace.
    The poem you shared is truly beautiful. Such lovely parting lines. These lines….

    And may there be no sadness of farewell,
    When I embark;
    For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
    The flood may bear me far,
    I hope to see my Pilot face to face
    When I have crost the bar.

    Struck a chord.

    Thank you for hosting.

  15. Keri, I am touched by your tribute to your Dad but I am sorry for your loss. I am sure that the funeral was a splendid farewell for a honored man. My offering this week is based on the weather prediction of snow on Long Island (just when I gathering the offerings for the Finding Fall Gallery). Thank you for hosting Poetry Friday.

  18. I’m sorry for your loss, Keri, and for all the heart-tiring times that preceded it. Your father sure does look like he had a mischievous glimmer in his eye 🙂
    Your poem was a perfect pick (“When that which drew from out the boundless deep/Turns again home.” — lovely). The whole thing is beautiful. Thanks for hosting — you definitely are going above and beyond to host today!

    1. Dear Keri – I am so sorry you’ve lost your Dad. Keeping you and your family close in my thoughts as you move through grief. A poem that speaks to me of my father and death is “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” by Longfellow. It has the sea in it, too. I loved your comment about watching your granny eat! I have this so very clear image of my grandma eating, and it fills me with such tenderness. I love old people. xo

  21. You are very kind to get on with hosting us, Keri, under the circumstances. And yet what is poetry for, if not to mark and give gravity to these life passages that might be triflingly common, without the right words?

  22. Keri, I’m so sorry for your loss and I can’t believe you’re hosting our gathering during this difficult time. Very brave and generous. Safe travels across Texas (my home!). Saying a prayer for you and your family.

  24. You are in my heart and thoughts. It’s so difficult to lose a parent. I love the poem you shared. A beautiful tribute.

  25. A perfect tribute to your father. I’m sorry for your loss. We still try to adhere to “And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark”… but that isn’t entirely possible. We continue to miss them. Hold on to those dear memories. Thank you for hosting when you clearly have other things to attend to that are more pressing.

  26. Hiya KCL – We can be certain that the quality of cookie-baking in Heaven has just risen exponentially. L, ‘g, js

  27. Keri, thanks for hosting today. “Crossing the Bar” is a lovely tribute to your father. Blessings today as you travel and comfort as you face the days ahead.

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