Kinship & Seashore

Posted bywordsandcoffee1Posted inPoetry, W3 PromptsTags:, , , , , 
magenta fog scrolls homeward
as we ford through doughy sand
evening whispers onward
as we three stand hand in hand
amid the swamps we've wandered
forging lightning from the land
we're ever in kinship forward
distance, time: easily spanned

This week’s Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt is brought to us by Heather, who asks us to do the following:

  • Write a poem in any style about a place that evokes emotion (a place where you find poetry);
    • It could be a place you go daily; perhaps from your childhood; or a place you may have only dreamed of. It may be under your favourite tree; a sports field; the lake; a coffee shop; your comfy chair; the dreaded dentist’s chair; or on a plane in the clouds… the possibilities are endless.

I was fortunate to get to visit a place that evokes emotion over the weekend: the home of one of my very best friends, Bree, who lives just a couple of miles from the shores of Lake Michigan near the area of Traverse City, Michigan. It’s a place that’s also home to rolling sand dunes and stunning sunsets.

With the busyness of life, I’m not able to make the 9.5-hour-drive to visit my friend very often (and in fact, this time, another friend and I found an affordable plane ticket that cut our roundtrip journey into a mere fraction of its usual time, for which I was incredibly grateful). When I do, I try to savor the time in a beautiful place with a dear friend. She’s getting married in March, and our visit was to celebrate her bridal shower and spend some quality time together.

There’s something special about reuniting with a good friend you don’t see all that often, about picking up where you left off as if there isn’t so much space and time wedged between your interactions. Bree was one of the first people I called in January 2020 right after I received my cancer diagnosis and was right there with shared tears and reassurances and any connections and advice she could scrounge up. I have only a few other good friends who I’ve known for about as long or longer than Bree; we met about 17 years ago and have been through thick and thin ever since.

Do you also have friendships that span the weights of time and distance? Tell me about it! I wish you many special times with dear friends, readers. 🙂

25 thoughts on “Kinship & Seashore”

  2. Wow, you painted such beautiful imagery with your poetic brush strokes! Even though I wasn’t physically present in that magical moment, your words transported me there instantly. It almost feels like reliving cherished memories made together despite miles apart. You managed to capture that intimate kinship so effortlessly through your verse. 👍👏👌😊🙏

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  5. Beautiful Sarah, it is so wonderful to have true friendship that lasts over miles and years. I am lucky to have two very good friends we meet up on zoom every week and share a poem we have written on a particular theme and just chat. We try to get together in person every two or three months – good times ❤️

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  6. Another poem with a wonderful peacefulness to it.
    My closest friends are the ones I made in the playground with my children–the oldest is 38 now, so that’s a while ago. I do also still have some friends from college as well (50 years). And my sisters-in-law–one for over 40 years, the other for 20–I’m probably closer to them than my brothers these days. I am truly gifted in friendship. (K)

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    1. That’s wonderful! I love hearing about friendships that have lasted for decades. My longest friendship is with another dear friend who lives a couple of hours from me; we met in 1st grade, so that’s almost 30 years for us! 🙂

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      1. Those childhood friendships are precious. My older daughter is still best friends with her preschool friend, despite the fact that her family moved back and forth between coasts several times.

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  9. First the poem is wonderful and I can feel the sand and see the sunset – eidetic! Second I have a friend that I’ve known for over 40 years – we met because we were dating two best friends (I married Sparky and she married C.). We live down the street from them and get together regularly! I have another friend, saintvi, that I met online through Xanga (RIP). We met in person after 3 years of online interactions in 2009 – so 14 years ago. We travel and geocache together and have even had holidays together. I have other friends that I’ve known as long but most of them live very far away – DDO and I dated in HS and he even proposed at one point but that didn’t happen. I gave a thumbs up when he married Tammy. We have exchanged cards and letters over the last 49 yrs. I’m still in touch with my college roommate but distance makes it hard to get together – 46 years and counting!

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  10. Such wonderful imagery. That first line drew me in and then I was able to connect with the sentiment. I am lucky to have a few long lasting friendships that seem to pick up like yesterday even when we rarely see each other and it doesn’t really matter where we are, it’s the connection that feels like home.

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