Sunday, January 6, 2008

Susan Blake's Bike

A sonnet in memory of Susan Blake was read at PeaceSmiths on Dec. 7, 2007, by the author, Richard Barnhart.

SUSAN BLAKE'S BIKE

In Memory of Susan Blake

In college, Susan vowed no more to drive
When, at the wheel, she hit a cat upstate
"It had the right to live and stay alive,"
She countered when her biking I'd berate.

Two times I saw the bicycle she'd ride.
The first was on a cold, bleak winter day.
The snow came down and covered it outside
The nursing home where her mom Betty lay.

The second time was only this past spring,
Deep in a hallway of First Methodist,
Its basket filled with plant sale wares to bring
To her small garden. Lord, how she'll be missed!

Her bike was old and worn, not worth the steal,
But, oh, what tender thoughts those times reveal!

--Richard Barnhart
10/8/07, 11/27/07