#Poetry Publication: “Everlasting”

Posted on by Liz Gauffreau

A Long Time Coming

I am delighted to share that my poem “Everlasting” has been published in the Smoky Quartz Tenth Anniversary Anthology (2022) sponsored by the Monadnock Writers’ Group. I’m particularly pleased that the poem was chosen by a New Hampshire-based publication because the poem combines my two favorite themes, family and place, particularly New England.

Ronald & Velma
Cape Elizabeth Cottage

The Inspiration

“Everlasting” is one of several poems I’ve written that were inspired by a particular event which I included in early drafts. However, by the time the revision process played itself out, the inspiration had disappeared from the poem.

The impetus for the poem was a visit to my grandparents’ Cape Elizabeth, Maine cottage with my mother and my daughter in the 1981/82 time frame. By that time, my grandmother Velma had died and my grandfather had married one of Velma’s close friends, Ethel.

Ethel spoke so fondly of Velma as she showed Sonia and me Velma’s unfinished pressed wildflower book. She told us that she was in the process of finishing the book for her. I was so touched by that, I wrote a rough draft of a poem as soon as I got home. Here it is: “Everlasting” Rough Draft (Not a Pretty Sight)

“Everlasting” 40 Years Later

 

 

 

173 thoughts on “#Poetry Publication: “Everlasting””

  4. Congratulations on the publication, Liz! Thank you SO much for sharing your rough draft. Actually, it’s a beautiful sight 🙂 There’s something inspiring and intimate about a handwritten poem with crossed-out and inserted words. It’s like I’m reading over your shoulder as you try to capture what you are feeling. And your recitation is lovely. That and the musical background made me feel very tender.

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    1. Thank you very much, Marie! I’m glad you enjoyed taking a peek at my rough draft. I figured I wouldn’t embarrass myself by posting it because my handwriting is pretty much illegible to other people. I’m pleased that the tenderness in the poem came through.

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  5. Congratulations on your publication of this wonderful poem!
    I love this poem. both your reading and the rough draft! It is such a sad but heartwarming story. It is wonderful when someone connects with another person’s treasure and carries it forward as you have done here. The Eastern Star and the DAR line brought back some long-forgotten memories for me..
    I hope your daughter will grasp the feelings you have expressed here and cherish the memories as well.

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  11. Congratulations! I enjoyed this reading – together with the photographs could appreciate your grandmother’s love for her home, her surroundings. Just as carefully as she preserved the wildflowers, you have preserved her portrait – sentimental and sorrowful.

    Liked by 3 people

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  21. Congratulations on the publication, Liz.
    It is lovely and so poignant. I guess it needed time to age. Thank you for sharing the back story–and your earlier draft. I’m so impressed that you have and can locate earlier drafts. 😉

    Your recording with your reading and music is wonderful–something to listen to over again.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you, Merril. I’m so glad you enjoyed the poem. All of my earlier drafts were saved iin the pre-computer days, so I know right where to find them. I’ve saved early drafts since I started using a computer but many are impossible to locate or access.

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  37. Wow, Liz, that looks like a lot of work. But your reward of publication made it worth it. Nice going. I have great memories of New England, as well. Fishing at the Cape and Jamestown, RI, hunting in Tunbridge, VE, and country rides, they all stay with me.

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  40. Congrats, Liz, on your heartwarming poem about history and family. I loved your draft and thought how fulfilling to see thoughts on paper coming to life. I loved hearing your poem as well.

    Liked by 3 people

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  46. This is very moving and tender, as so many here have remarked. Each image is so palpable. I felt the dew and the sap, the smells, and so many others. You have made Velma’s life everlasting with your words in loving tribute. Congratulations for another published work! Thank you for sharing.

    Liked by 4 people

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