This poem is beautiful. It might sound cliche, but it did bring tears to my eyes. (I also have been blessed to beta-read your book about Charlie, and I'm sure that had a bearing on my reading of this poem. I feel like I knew him, at least a little bit.) The "ache in the heart of a bride" is the line that got to me.
As far as the experience of people loving something I created, which I don't exactly love, I understand that feeling. Sometimes you pour so much of yourself into something that gets almost no response, and other times, you're feeling kind of "meh" about something you've written, and that's the thing people notice. It's a strange dynamic.
First, it's a beautiful poem because of your intentional care for the hearers, and the evident love you have for Charlie and Jean. They love it because through it, you loved them. To your question, yes. I'm sometimes dumbfounded by which poems have gotten the most favorable reception.
These are words born in love -- that is what communicates. They are birthed in love for your father-in-law and offered to those who loved him and your family. You articulated words for others and have said things they may not have had words for. That is a gift.
This poem is beautiful. It might sound cliche, but it did bring tears to my eyes. (I also have been blessed to beta-read your book about Charlie, and I'm sure that had a bearing on my reading of this poem. I feel like I knew him, at least a little bit.) The "ache in the heart of a bride" is the line that got to me.
As far as the experience of people loving something I created, which I don't exactly love, I understand that feeling. Sometimes you pour so much of yourself into something that gets almost no response, and other times, you're feeling kind of "meh" about something you've written, and that's the thing people notice. It's a strange dynamic.
Yup, exactly.
Sorry for your loss…
First, it's a beautiful poem because of your intentional care for the hearers, and the evident love you have for Charlie and Jean. They love it because through it, you loved them. To your question, yes. I'm sometimes dumbfounded by which poems have gotten the most favorable reception.
These are words born in love -- that is what communicates. They are birthed in love for your father-in-law and offered to those who loved him and your family. You articulated words for others and have said things they may not have had words for. That is a gift.