Afterwards Poem by Noreen Carden

The third stanza with three repetitions of AFTERWARDS is so powerful. I was stunned the first time reading silently. So I read it a second time outloud and the effect was further enhanced with the heavy accent on each AFTERWARDS. The middle stanza is crucial in this poem, how it goes the poem goes. The two people can be witnesses but that's it. They can't re-capture the past and re-live their lives. They can only re-stage the moment and re-play their actions. And that falls far short of the romantic recovery we readers might hope for. And so it goes, as Billy Pilgrim used to say, as his life was collapsing around him.

obviously you picked the wrong tree! bri : (

lovely and touching poem. alas I think we all experience a broken heart at sometime or another.

Another lovely poem Noreen. Full of nostalgia, cherished memories, the pain of losing someone you love. So much meaning here.

A step back in time hurts, with such intense sense of loss, as the here and now is cruel and has no mercy as we face the truth! Powerful and excellent write!

awe...a sad story from ages gone, nostalgia strong hangs heavy on the heart nice write liked