Kathy Jo Carter is a nurse and life resident of Madison County. The Arts are a passion, but her biggest passion is her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is a member of Last Stanza Poetry Association of Elwood, Ind., and St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
~KJ Carter
Alas, To Be Truly Free
Loose
Unfettered
Unbound
A gentle breeze
Slides around curving paths
In a sensual dance
A hint of herbs
Explodes, then fades,
As quickly as it came
Tips that salute.
Paying great respect and awe
To the breeze, turned gust
The comfort and pleasure
Of the end of the professional work day,
In the shedding of the bra!
A Life in the Great War
The USS Pocahontas
Her mission to deliver and return
Troops to defend, and sacrifice
Only one time
Did she engage a German Sub
Great guns primed
For her mission,
In the Great War, was deliverance
Not aggression
But not all
Who swabbed her decks at sea
Could rest once home
For Charlie
The guns, never silent,
Invaded his sleep
Thirty years
Shell shock, they called it
In my youth
Until finally
He found a way to make them stop
To find rest
I was three
He was watching me
That final day
He tucked me
Safely in Grandma’s arms
And walked away
A swig of ether
his screams of agony
The run from pain
The guns
Quiet at last
Sweet rest
~KJ Carter
