Your words carry both the weight of caregiving and the love that keeps carrying you forward. Thank you for sharing such an honest glimpse into a journey that asks so much, yet still finds reasons to hope.
Chris, you are truly a masterful poet. The first resonates with me as a caregiver for one with dementia. I'm sure it will resonate with many caregivers. I'd like to print and share it with caregivers, with your name and Substack address attached, and your permission,
Incredible work, Chris. Heartfelt and really captures parts of your life and story. I think the powering them is that they not only let us look into your story but they take us there and let us feel them, too.
It only takes a few lines to know you are experiencing someone’s life and that of another. Your story emerges in heartfelt moments through out every poem. And a tear drop falls and then another. One for the agony of feeling the pain of being there and the next for knowing the best of two people reside in those lines. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your publication
Amazing poetry! And to know pieces of your story makes the poetry even more powerful. Staying in the water…makes sense to me. We can carry more in the water.
The Etch A Sketch image stayed with me, especially the shift from “not the life I mapped” to “but a life.” There is so much grief in watching the old lines disappear, but also a quiet kind of love in continuing to turn the knobs together.
Dearest Chris…your words are so heartfelt, so true, so real, so personal, so brave, so loving, and at the same time showing the fatigue, the vulenrability, the different future you had envisioned. So different than what is, but so complete in your knowing that “love is the whole show.”
These lines below pulled at my heart, because I was there, And it felt like no one else could know what “there” was like: But you knew/know.
Your poetry is not pompous or vague or mysterious. It is down-to-earth real and yet still poetic.
I hope that you have read my post: “The Night Archangel Michael Appeared” because I think you will see how very much both of our hearts have resonated and our souls have advanced through the giving of care to a beloved.
Hi Dr. Kala, I truly appreciate your empathy, your compassion, and your thoughtful / heartfelt commentary. The lines you pointed out are definitely the heart of not just this poem but the past 12 years of caring for Bray Bray. I say all the time: Don’t mistake strength for obligation. We care for our loved ones not because we are strong, but because our love for them is unbending.
Truer words were never spoken, Chris. What amazes me is how you can balance your life with all of this and still show up to support people here. There are days when just keeping up with Substack feels unsustainable.
Mind you, I am 74, and I have just moved to a new country without knowing the language, etc etc. So I give myself some slack.
But watching all you do and yet you keep writing your poetry, to me that is inspiring!
Too bad Cretans don’t play pickleball! That might be what
Love love love the 3 poems.
I feel the struggles in each one of them.
I see my Braydens face in each of them too❤️❤️❤️
Awwww thanks Michele!
Your words carry both the weight of caregiving and the love that keeps carrying you forward. Thank you for sharing such an honest glimpse into a journey that asks so much, yet still finds reasons to hope.
Thank you so much Florence!
Beautiful. ❣️Makes me pause, brought me back to my own self. Thank you.
Appreciate your kind words Sandi!
Beautiful poems! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much Dr. Hui
You’re most welcome. You can call me Hui.
Thank you💛 The Etch-a-sketch is a perfect illustration. ‘Outside’ people don’t acknowledge that part of the journey often enough.
Thanks so much!
Chris, you are truly a masterful poet. The first resonates with me as a caregiver for one with dementia. I'm sure it will resonate with many caregivers. I'd like to print and share it with caregivers, with your name and Substack address attached, and your permission,
Hi Nikki, That’s so kind of you! Please do! My Substack is https://chrisbwrites.substack.com
Feel free to DM me and we can talk!
Incredible work, Chris. Heartfelt and really captures parts of your life and story. I think the powering them is that they not only let us look into your story but they take us there and let us feel them, too.
You are too kind Gary! I definitely try to tell the emotional truth behind it all, whether it’s the joy, the hardship, or everything in between.
This is masterful work.
Thank you Seb!
These are wonderful poems that capture the realities of caregiving for a family member so well.
Hi Rayya, Thank you for reading!
It only takes a few lines to know you are experiencing someone’s life and that of another. Your story emerges in heartfelt moments through out every poem. And a tear drop falls and then another. One for the agony of feeling the pain of being there and the next for knowing the best of two people reside in those lines. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your publication
Hi Karen, Thank you so much for both your kind words and your empathy. It means more than you know.
Moving, powerful and beautifully written..
Thank you!
Amazing poetry! And to know pieces of your story makes the poetry even more powerful. Staying in the water…makes sense to me. We can carry more in the water.
Thank you Linda!
Some days it reaches my chest,
and breathing becomes
a deliberate act,
counted,
negotiated.
You carry so much. And share so much. Love what you're putting out.
Thank you so much Kurt!
The Etch A Sketch image stayed with me, especially the shift from “not the life I mapped” to “but a life.” There is so much grief in watching the old lines disappear, but also a quiet kind of love in continuing to turn the knobs together.
Hi Patrick, Appreciate your kind words. I definitely felt it too when writing, that pull between the past and the blank slate before us.
This is my favorite part: "Strength is knowing how to wade
without disappearing.
How to keep your head up
without hardening your heart.
How to remain visible
while carrying someone else’s weight." I can feel that too.
Thank you for seeing that, Jolene.
Dearest Chris…your words are so heartfelt, so true, so real, so personal, so brave, so loving, and at the same time showing the fatigue, the vulenrability, the different future you had envisioned. So different than what is, but so complete in your knowing that “love is the whole show.”
These lines below pulled at my heart, because I was there, And it felt like no one else could know what “there” was like: But you knew/know.
Your poetry is not pompous or vague or mysterious. It is down-to-earth real and yet still poetic.
I hope that you have read my post: “The Night Archangel Michael Appeared” because I think you will see how very much both of our hearts have resonated and our souls have advanced through the giving of care to a beloved.
I didn’t wade in bravely.
I stepped in because someone I love
was already surrounded,
because standing on shore
felt like a luxury I couldn’t afford.
Hi Dr. Kala, I truly appreciate your empathy, your compassion, and your thoughtful / heartfelt commentary. The lines you pointed out are definitely the heart of not just this poem but the past 12 years of caring for Bray Bray. I say all the time: Don’t mistake strength for obligation. We care for our loved ones not because we are strong, but because our love for them is unbending.
Truer words were never spoken, Chris. What amazes me is how you can balance your life with all of this and still show up to support people here. There are days when just keeping up with Substack feels unsustainable.
Mind you, I am 74, and I have just moved to a new country without knowing the language, etc etc. So I give myself some slack.
But watching all you do and yet you keep writing your poetry, to me that is inspiring!
Too bad Cretans don’t play pickleball! That might be what
I need! Ha ha ha…🤣🤩🤗❤️