Life’s suspension
Slow motion
between the seen and unseen
spoken and unspoken
knowledge keeper and obliviously unaware.
You hold a power
no one wants to bear.
The fate of another
Suspended.
You hold your breath
wary of the forever impact
this not-yet-released reality carries.
Once freed, a line drawn in the sand
demarking the time before this moment of truth
and the aftermath of a consciousness tsunami.
A loss of innocence.
A forced growing up.
An irrevocable shift
in a life view
a perspective
a future
with just three words
four syllables
thirteen letters
Your daddy died.
Kate Lino is a communications professional, former journalist and writer. She brings humor, human observation and her own experiences to her poetry and nonfiction writing. "Suspended" is a poem written in the wake of her ex-husband's recent death.
Hey, I... I just want to say, even as an adult... your poem has been in my head for a couple of hours... receiving those calls for both of my parents... as a parent myself, fearing death only in fearing making this kind of moment for my loved ones... you've captured it all so... raw. Real... even at 37 orr 45... long an adult... it came right back to the experience of "mommy", "daddy"... the complete stuttering of time trying to find words, trying to hear words, the fracture of existence. The split between little kid and adult. Even trying to comment here feels disjointed. I am so sorry for your loss and hope your kid(s) have enough memories that…