Donna McCord

Marriage is the joining of two bodies and two minds
Past mistakes are unwanted and better left behind
From this day forth you must take care of each other
You’ll learn to draw strength each day from one another
...

The week before Labor Day in August it was,
In 2005 the whole town was a-buzz.
There was a killer coming, a huge hurricane
Headed for New Orleans, Katrina was her name.
...

Sometimes when you least expect it someone comes your way
That touches you invisibly with what they have to say
They seem so familiar like you’ve known them your whole life
And they radiate around you and envelope you in light.
...

There are no rules of motherhood, you make them as you go
The physical pain will soon subside and love will bloom and grow
You bandage all the boo boos and nurse them when they're sick
And help them learn the lessons and hope the good ones stick.
...

How can I ever thank you both for everything you’ve done?
What you’ve done for my daughter, though she swears she’s having fun
Giving her a job so close to Christmas is a gift within itself
That means she can help buy Christmas and play Santa’s little elf.
...

A child is born and the world doesn’t care
There’s famine and poverty and disease everywhere
There’s crime in the streets and a wolf at the door
The hustle and bustle and no one cares anymore
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She was just a kid when she picked them up and said, “I think I’ll try this”
But now she’s forty and realizes too late that smoking turned into a death wish.
How could she have known what damage it does at such a tender young age?
It’s too late now, her life is over and all she has left is her courage.
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My Mama’s little flowerbed had roses of all kinds
When I close my eyes I still see the red ones in my mind
As she gently cupped the flower with tender loving care
To inhale the sweet aroma that always lingered there.
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I believe in God, and in the power of prayer,
And in finding salvation somewhere out there.
I believe that some friends you meet here in this life
Are still found today in a husband and wife.
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So small, so fragile, but perfect tiny hands and toes.
He never took a single breath, and why is that? God knows.
A little boy so innocent will never walk in Daddy’s shoes.
The why of it we do not know, nor something we would choose.
...

There once was a man
From Afghanistan
Who ruled the al-Quaeda kigdom
Now it has been said
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A confession of love in an intimate moment
He softly kisses my slumbering cheek
And hastens to gather what strength was not spent
To face a new day this week.
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So tiny you were when you came in this world
With your little dimples and head full of curls.
I thought at the time I couldn’t love this much
You held my heart in that closed fisted clutch.
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I will never try to stop your leaving, it's up to to you to stay
If leaving here is easier, don't let us stand in your way
But this door will not stand open, it's my defense against the cold
It's all I have to lean on should you still decide to go.
...

It's still my Sister's lovely face, though gaunt and full of depth
Betrayed by grief I lowered my head and quietly I wept
I cry because she has this pain, and loses what she eats
I cry because this cancer is a greedy obscene desease.
...

I stand upon the westbound shore
As day fades into dusk.
The mist upon my face explores
And bids the seagulls hush.
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She sits alone and quiet in the hall,
Her wheelchair backed up against the wall.
The nurses walk by and give her a smile,
They know her name, she’s been here a while.
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It was brought to my attention after I became a Mom
That I was no longer me, but someone I’d become
I am still the same person that I was before the kids
But the reference to my identity was different before this.
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My Dad and I were talking one day as we often do
I asked him if his Dad was good to his son too
A softness found his face as he looked at me and smiled
I could see it pleased him to visit there a while
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When will I ever get over this pain?
I want to laugh and feel whole again
Loving you was easy; I was comfortable there.
Now all I have left is this pain to bear.
...