Hello readers! I don’t usually do this on Reveries, but I just finished this poem – Courage, Dear Heart – and I decided I needed to share it with someone.
It’s a bit different than most poetry. You see, it tells a story … and shares a message … and is based loosely off a novel I’m working on (Wind Against the Cliffs – and now, I haven’t shared about it yet!).
I hope you’ll enjoy this piece which shares some thoughts about God remaining with us throughout our biggest trials as well as a woman’s growth into experiencing His presence in her life. ?
Without further ado …
Courage, Dear Heart
I.
Iโm just a little thing
Saddle shoes and Sunday best
So thrilled they chose me to sing
Somehow better than the rest
Knowing other girls would love
To be in my place, but I fear
Iโll only be made a fool of
The pressures of the crowd, the stares.
I feel about to lose control,
My own mind tears me apart,
But a voice whispers in my soul,
โCourage, Dear Heart.โ
II.
Heโs so tall, and handsome, too;
I canโt believe he wanted me.
Tonight I have so much to prove,
To show the world what I can be.
Heโs not the most popular boy in school,
But Iโm not afraid to be seen with him.
What if his religion breaks the rules?
Iโm sure not dating on a whim.
My parents never will approve
An Irishman and an upstart.
And when the doubts begin anewโ
โCourage, Dear Heart.โ
III.
โYou wonโt marry a Catholic, dear.โ
I want to plug my ears and cry.
โWe wonโt have his kind anywhere near.โ
But to leave him Iโd have to die.
I look to him, and know heโd leave
To give me the life he thinks I deserve.
Yet something tells me to cling and cleave,
And I hate them for every word.
I never loved them anyhow.
Iโll lose my family โฆ in part,
For he is my family now.
โCourage, Dear Heart.โ
IV.
Delivery room, and Iโd rather die
Than lie here on this cold bed,
And grip the nurseโs hand and cry
And feel about as good as dead.
But to have a child of my own,
I know what can be overcame.
I fight into the unknown,
And push through the pain.
โJust breathe, and itโll be over soon.โ
The pain shoots through me like a dart
Though my screams fill the room,
โCourage, Dear Heart.โ
V.
โTell me youโll be home someday.โ
I make my voice so brave and firm
And hold my smile in its place
Though my insides begin to squirm.
Brave for children, brave for him,
Brave for all my country, too,
My heart has so much fear therein.
He crushes me in Navy blue.
And then heโs on the train. I call,
โDonโt be a hero; try to be smart.โ
He waves until the train grows small.
โCourage, Dear Heart.โ
VI.
I only asked to be his wife.
I hug the folded flag and cry.
I never asked for all this strife,
I never asked for him to die.
How could God take him from me?
I need him more than words can say.
Lost to the depths of the sea,
And Iโm to live on day to day?
Iโd rather curse our enemies
And die than learn to live apart.
Iโve lost him for eternity.
StillโโCourage, Dear Heart.โ
VII.
Thereโs no comfort left to find,
And I donโt know how to survive.
My own voice echoes in my mind,
An endless stream of, โWhy, why, why?โ
Yet a soft voice in my soul
Tells me there is so much hope,
And nothing on this earth is whole,
But thereโs another way to cope.
In the storm, Iโm found and held,
And offered up a brand new start.
Though sometimes pain cannot be quelled,
Still, itโs there: โCourage, Dear Heart.โ
TTFN!
~Kellyn Roth~
p.s.
Can you guess what the story behind the poem is? Can you pick up anything about the woman the poem is written about? Any ideas as to what the story might be about? ?? ALSO … would you like seeing this kind of thing on Reveries again? What are your thoughts on poems that tell stories, even if they’re kinda abstract?
13 Responses
Lovely!
Thank you, Ang!!!
I usually am not a poetry person but this poem was so beautiful, Kellyn!! ??
Awww, thank you, Abigail!!! I’m glad you liked it!
Oh my heart KELLYN!! I need this book now pretty please!! I was not ready for that! And yes, I love abstract story poems…kinda like a country song. *hopes you like country cause that was a compliment* We don’t have to know the full story to be swept into their world and feel for them…but can we have the full story now??
THANK YOU! Yes, that is a compliment. I love country music. ๐ Exactly! I feel the same about a lot of lyrics.
Full storrrryy … well, I’m working on it. After I get through the rest of Alice and Ivy (e.g. four books – but just minor edits on At Her Fingertips and Beyond Her Calling and a bit more work on TDS and a bit more work on IvIn), it’ll be my next project! ๐
Oh. My. Gosh. I love this so much!! So, so good.
Awww, thank you, Hannah! ๐ I’m glad you liked it!
I love this poem style! And the story it tells, so sad, yet what a awesome message! <3
Awww, thank you, Brooklyne! I’m glad you think so!
Wow. I almost started crying towards the end there. This is so powerful. You should win an award or something. XD
WOW! Thank you! ๐ That made me grin really big. I’m glad you liked it!
This is nice!