Poems from Moments in Mourning —
A guide to the healing of grief
A survivor after losing a mate of 42 years, Marianne McNeil Logan, a well-known rhyming poet, gently leads the reader through unexpected stages of losing a loved one and into the light, discovering a new life is still possible. A poet with many accolades, her chapbooks have garnered five national awards and two Pulitzer Prize nominations, including one for this book.
If you would like to purchase the chapbook for $7.99 or the e-book for $7.00, email us at path2@pathpublishing.com or transfer to our Shopping Cart.
Copyright © 2007 Marianne McNeil Logan
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WATCH SECTION
Final Words
These final hours are precious ones
while knowing end is near,
and I must hide my grieving heart
and overwhelming fear.
I’ll hold you close, my hand in yours,
while eyes are filled with tears.
How can you ever say goodbye
to love of forty years?
We talk of pride in grownup sons,
in what they’ve done, and will―
it’s much too soon to say goodbye
because we need you still.
MOURNING SECTION
Facade
I’m tired of people
telling me
“You must be very
strong
to bear your grief
the way you do.”
Why can’t they
see they’re wrong?
I’m weak, alone,
and so afraid,
yet still, I
guess, I try
to fill my days
with busy things,
but late
at
night,
I
cry.
RECOVERING SECTION
Breaking the Chain
The sonnet she had written about time
that heals the heart still numbed by hopeless grief
“Till withered autumn leaf ” stabbed deep. Belief
in words she wrote gave added strength to rhyme.
One line said sleep had shielded during plight
with healing powers found in slumbers’ charms,
where I too searched for solace. Mystic arms
of Morpheus still comfort me at night.
The mourning grief and worries since his death
have eased. I realize, self-pity’s chain
that blinds and binds was still creating pain.
I will not let depression taint each breath.
I will no longer let self-pity’s hold
and loneliness control. Let life unfold!
new learning process
struggling to find secure footing
with strangers in this
crazy new world is a bit like
learning to skate
backwards
Change of Heart
I'm taking off my wedding rings
to pack them carefully away
with other sentimental things.
Can loneliness corrode heartstrings?
It’s time to live, and laugh, and play;
I'm taking off my wedding rings.
My world reflects what mourning brings
as memories consume and prey,
with other sentimental things.
For far too long, a widow clings
to life that used to be. Today,
I'm taking off my wedding rings.
It’s time to live. Awakenings
start heart to stir; let grieving stay
with other sentimental things,
for hope and faith give spirit wings;
today seems like a holiday.
I'm packing up my wedding rings
with other sentimental things.
(Villanelle)
new hope
sorrow
goes through stages
until one is ready
to open arms and embrace life again
Solace of Beauty
God gives us inspiration, hope in ways
with beauty he has placed for us to praise
like spiraling of showy butterflies,
pinwheeling birds in velvet azure skies,
or when he sends refreshing gentle rain
so land is filled with joyous hope again;
and silver moon’s cloud-cradled lustrous rays
bathe sleeping land with iridescent haze.
Life isn’t always perfect―even fair―
but sometimes, there’s a perfect moment, rare
as dew-dropped rosebud, clutched in trembling hand,
to help the lost, the grieving, understand.
Though one is gone, the daily life goes on―
encouraging with each new day at dawn.
Renewal of Hope
How can one stay immersed in grief
when earth is wreathed in spring,
when every blossomed bough holds birds
that chirp and cheep and sing,
and who can possibly be sad
when every crocus lifts
its furry face to hem the skirts
of tattering snowdrifts?
It’s hard to be unhappy when
the hills are wakening
to burgeoned petaling of veils
that drape incoming spring,
and how can one stay miserable
when grass shows sheen of green,
while trees flaunt limbs of finery
in lacy velveteen?
Oh, how can one still mourn and weep
when flowers stipple slope
to swarm through sun-washed greening fields,
inspiring faith and hope?
This is the season to rejoice,
when land is blossoming
with growth, new life, new hope for all
in celebrating spring.
About the Poet
Marianne McFarland was raised north of Rapid City, near the Black Hills of South Dakota. Her husband of forty-two years, Grant McNeil, died of cancer in April of 1991 in Amarillo, Texas. Two sons live in Amarillo, and one in El Paso.
She started writing poetry after her father’s death at Christmas of 1980. Her mother still lives in Rapid City. She has one brother and three sisters, including her older twin sister, firstborn in the family.
In March of 1994, she married Claude Logan, of Dumas, Texas. They spend much time traveling to writing seminars and cowboy gatherings where she is often a scheduled speaker.
She is a Councilor-at-Large for the Poetry Society of Texas, and has organized many writing activities for the Panhandle area writers. She helped establish cowboy poetry in the Panhandle: Old West Days, monthly breakfasts at the Big Texan, and programs at Barnes & Noble. She founded and helped moderate the Senior Citizens group for twenty years; fifty-six members were published during that time.
She founded the Tri-State Fair Literary Contest, has encouraged area poets in readings on KGNC on National Poetry Day, promoted poetry readings at the Amarillo Art Center, set up poetry displays at “Taste the Arts” at Westgate Center, and organized many cowboy poetry programs in neighboring communities.
A well-known rhyming poet, she has won over 1,000 poetry contest awards! Three of her chapbooks have garnered five national awards and two Pulitzer Prize nominations.
Her poems have been published in several of the NFSF Book of the Year editions, which show the annual contest winners’ poems, as well as those of other state poetry societies, including Texas, Pasque Petals of South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Minnesota. Anthologies include Galaxy of Verse, Midwest Poetry Review, Jessee Poet, Editor’s Desk, and Rio Grande Review. Her seasonal poems were included in one of the New Horizons Poets’ Timeless Shores, which showcased the works of four poets. Magazines that have published her poems include Good Housekeeping, Alfred Hitchcock Mysteries, Byline, Good Old Days, and others.
In 1986 she was nominated for “Writer of the Year” by Marquis Who’s Who in Poets and Writers of Cambridge, England. Twice she placed in the Top 100 in Writers Digest’s annual international competitions. In 1990 she was the Texas winner of the Arts category in Colonel Sanders’ Senior Citizens Super Achievers Contest.
Always a person of dedicated service, these are a few more of her many accolades: Hilton Ross Greer Award by the Poetry Society of Texas, the Heritage Award by the Southwest Cowboy Poetry Association, and the Lifetime Award from the Panhandle Professional Writers in Amarillo. Check out her site, www.poetmariannelogan.com.
To order these publications from the author, email her at mmmltx@nts-online.net or write to her at 2700 S. Roosevelt, Amarillo, Texas 79103. Add $1.50 for postage for first book and 90 cents for each additional, mailed in a 6 x 9 envelope. Add $1.00 for a padded mailer. Author cannot be responsible for damage to books not sent in a padded mailer. To order, Texans need to add sales tax of 8.25 percent. All books will be autographed.
Co-authored with Vivian Ramsey
Stewart, Poet Laureate of the Poetry
Society of Oklahoma:
Singing Songs of Inspiration $7.00
Singing Songs of Friendship 7.00
Gift set of both books is $12.00.
Each page has sketch by that poet.
Poems to Turn Thoughts Around 5.00
(Reversettes)
Newest book, a Pulitzer Prize nominee:
Moments in Mourning―
A guide to the healing of grief 7.99
Cowboy Poetry:
Designed by Heritage
(with sketches)
7.00
Girls Write Cowboy Poetry Too
7.00
Won NLAPW Book Contest, Ft. Worth.
Celebration for Sonneteers 7.00
Won Crossroads Chapbook Contest,
OWFI Book of Poetry “Pegasus” Award
and was a Pulitzer Prize nominee.
(Fifteen sonnet patterns explained.)
Co-authored with Marie McCubbin
with cartoons by Marie McCubbin:
Pudgy Parodies 5.00
Winds of the Panhandle (with
sketches) 7.00
Echoes from the Black Hills (sketches) 7.00
Mother Nature & Father Time Conspire 7.00
From the press release…
Praise
“When we don’t know what to say to a grieving widow, these poems speak words of truth, comfort and guidance from the pen of a gifted poet who writes from experience. After the flowers have faded and reality sets in, this book will continue to bless and heal.” Vivian Ramsey Stewart, past Poet Laureate and former President of the Poetry Society of Oklahoma.
“The 63 poems in this purse-sized book share a woman’s emotions as she watches her husband dying, faces the loneliness, and finds new hope. Other women who have faced or are now facing ‘moments in mourning’ will find poems in the book to express their own emotions.” Madelyn Eastlund, past President of National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Editor of NFSPS’ newsletter Strophes, and Editor of Poets’ Forum Magazine, one of poetry’s leading magazines.
This limited first edition, signed and numbered by Marianne, is only $7.99 ― 68 pages, 4¼ x 7 (purse size), top stapled, 2.5 ounces. The e-book (pdf) version, which you can print out on your computer, is $7.00; contact the publisher. ISBN 978-1-891774-08-9
To order from the author, email her at mmmltx@nts-online.net or write to her at 2700 S. Roosevelt, Amarillo, Texas 79103. Add $1.50 for postage for first book and 90 cents for each additional, mailed in a 6 x 9 envelope. Add $1.00 for a padded mailer. To order, Texans need to add sales tax of 8.25 percent. All books will be autographed. Check out her web site, www.poetmariannelogan.com.
Available at Hastings in Wolflin Village in Amarillo.
We hope you enjoyed the poems from Moments in Mourning. If you would like to purchase the chapbook for $7.99 or the e-book for $7.00, email us at path2@pathpublishing.com or transfer to our Shopping Cart.
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A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in bowls of silver. Proverbs 25:11