The Wind Chimes on Our Deck

The wind blows and your spirit speaks to me
From the chimes
under the gazebo
out on our deck

When I put your ashes inside (a little teaspoon of you)
I had no idea
How your memory
would resonate with each sound
throughout my days
and my nights

With a gentle nudge upon every breeze

Each chord brings
a soft lull
in my pain

With each tone,
I hear you call my name

A whisper on the wind

In the tinkling of the chimes, I hear your voice
across eternity
your love speaking to me
across the barrier of time

A soothing murmur in my ear

I feel you
here

I feel you
next to me

I feel you
loving me

I feel
you

April 28, 2018

About the author

Katherine Billings Palmer is a technical writer, poet, and essayist from Garden City, Michigan. She’s won several academic writing awards, including first place in the University of Michigan Dearborn Critical Essay Contest for her work about poet John Donne: “‘The Sun Rising’: A Lover’s Boast.”

In 2017, Katherine’s husband, Rick, died of complications from small cell lung cancer. She wrote a series of poems and essays about her struggles to cope with her grief. I Wanted to Grow Old With You is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

Her latest book, A Widow’s Words: Grief, Reflection, Prose, and Poetry – The First Year was published in January 2019 and is also available on Amazon.com.

Katherine is a guest blogger for the Hope for Widows Foundation and writes about her grief journey at www.TheWritingWidow.com.

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