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A Spring You Envision, a Corrie Poem

Corrie's Mom

A corrie poem from march 14, 2015

Celebration of life, rather than the belief in the defeat of death, hopefully comes to us in our walk with grief.

I celebrated Corrie’s life when she was three-months-old with a poem I wrote about my hopes for her.

Trust me. I’ve felt the heights of anger, depression, guilt and shame, and I still cry.

I was dressing Corrie in skirts and leggings from the times she was a baby. She had her choice to wear pants, but she held on to wearing her skirts and dresses while running in the dirt.

But my concerns about spring, so far, have proved those apprehensions incorrect. I’ve laughed more than cried. I’ve smiled more than frowned. I’ve found Corrie in my spirit and in the world around me that causes me to feel the joy she escalated in the force of her presence.

I loved having my baby girl, and in the first year of life, I barely ever left her alone when I was home or she was with me.

I wrote the poem below, A Spring You Envision, when Corrie was three-months-old, and I shared it with her pictures on Facebook when she was three-months-old. I put a star beside a single line I changed in reference to her big brother, Hayes, because I was wrong about his strength.

The original line in the poem read, “Hold your brother’s hand for sometimes you may have to be the stronger one,” and I was 100 percent completely wrong because he is one of the strongest people to walk through the loss of Corrie. It should read “Hayes, hold your mother’s hand for sometimes you are the stronger one.”
This is one of my all-time favorite baby pictures of Corrie as a baby because she showed her full personality right here as a little one.

My hopes for you, my daughter, are many

like a spring you envision lasting forever.

I will do my best to prepare you for the 

tough roads, and how to deal when 

rocks are thrown your way for you 

will be a far better judge of character

than ever I was. 

Never have I known love such as this, 

for you, your brother, and my pen

to fill the soul making crushes,

old friends and ex-boyfriends 

nothing more than 

elementary school games.

When some boy asks you how 

far will jump for him, may you

say, “I don’t jump for I have 

climbed mountains.” When you

stand at the river’s edge or climb 

to the waterfalls, may you find 

peace in the rush of the water,

in the honking of geese, and in

the green of a duck’s collar.

For i have always found nature to be 

the dearest companion for one with a

pen, or a soul struggling to

engage in social spaces.

May your dreams come true. 

May you dance barefoot in 

the rain. May you use your

imagination made without

computer conquests.  

May you run to the hilltops 

and sing. Never mind if

others make fun of you.

Hold your brother’s hand for

*he loves more than you will 

ever know.*   Most of all, I hope

you find the one who will match

you step for step. One, who like 

your father, knows your soul, and

will hold you long after all 

the others are gone.

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Published by Corrie's Mom

They say teacher turn over is high right now, and many teachers will leave the profession in five years or less. I will enter my seventh year as a full-time teacher, and my 12th year in education after I'd started as a sub and teacher assistant. I was the student in the 1990s you did not want in your classroom because I was diagnosed with ADHD and did not know how to socialize with other kids. I was due to be tested for autism, but this was considered an ostracizing experience for a child then, especially a girl. I am a third generation teacher and author of seventeen creative works.

1 thought on “A Spring You Envision, a Corrie Poem”

  1. Pingback: In Every Gold, Bright Orange, and Russet Leaf: a Reflection of Autumn in Corrie’s Poems – Corrie's Season

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