Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Sunshine

The Sunshine Coast



It was eight in the morning
when the telephone rang.

My store on the ocean
had burned
down to the ground.
There was nothing left.

My mother cancelled going to work,
and poured herself "a stiff one". 
I was in numbness mode,
stoic, the way I receive all bad news.

The insurance company
viewed it as a suspicious fire,
(and it was,
no doubt about it, 
a suspicious fire.)
They suspected the man in my life.
So no payment,
no return of my investment,
and even my personal belongings
were apparently not covered.

I had to leave the Sunshine Coast.

This time starting over from scratch 
was truly from scratch.

But I lightened my load considerably
by not taking the "boyfriend" with me.
And the baby who was born weeks later
brought the sunshine 
back with her,
when she arrived.

Fireblossom, over at Real Toads, has asked us to write about Disasters. My only problem: which one to choose. Here is Disaster 101, which taught me some harsh realities. 

21 comments:

  1. So much loss. I'm glad you found the strength to pick yourself up and build a better life.

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  2. Sad, Sherry. Too bad that 'boyfriend' was not held financially responsible. Glad that out of the disaster came a child of sunshine!

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  3. Wow! You tell the tale so clearly, so fine. Do you believe that every great challenge births wonder and joy?

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  4. Wow Sherry, what a story you have lived. Amazing. I love your sunshine at the end.

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  5. It takes a lot of strength and perseverance to start over from scratch, especially with a baby on the way. I admire your fortitude greatly, Sherry.

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  6. Incredibly well said, Sherry. All the feelings in a horrible story with a happy ending — wow!
    Luv, K

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  7. Disasters are most often senseless, but sometimes we find something in the rubble we otherwise wouldn't have found.

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  8. Sherry you wrote this so well~ I love how your baby was the sun! I am so sorry for your loss. I do think you did need a detour, before he did much worse~ You really need to write your memoir~

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  9. Sherry, you are such a person of strength...you told this story so well and even ended it with sunshine...that is what I love about you.

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  10. Just the kind of pick up and go a take charge woman does. With a baby on the way, there is no time for reconciliation, no time to see what will burn down next. I love the uses of sunshine in this poem.

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  11. another lens on this moment in your life, thank you! i want to sit with you over a cup of tea (or several) and hear this story in its entirety. can we make that happen, Sherry? :)

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  12. A woman and her unborn child is most at risk for domestic violence. Why? Why?

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  13. What a terrible thing to happen. I did not know fire insurance would not cover a "suspicious fire." But glad sunshine returned and that you left the BF behind! What a lovely coast though.

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  14. Sherry, I didn't know about this horrible occurrence. Glad you dumped his ass, and at least you had a baby to show for it... I had the same "dump his ass" thing, and Riley is the only true thing to come out of five years of marriage. Love, Amy

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  15. wow, that's a definite calamity but I love the light that always emerges after the worst of storms

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  16. Wow. That's wicked harsh, and to think it was done deliberately makes me lose my tiny sliver of faith in humanity.

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  17. Talk about burning bridges! Yeesh! You are one strong lady!

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  18. thank goodness you weren't inside the store when he set it on fire!

    Happy Holidays, Sherry!

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  19. A hard lesson indeed... so glad you got some wonderful compensation in the form of a new life though!

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  20. your sunshine arrived, safer in this new place. Perhaps that is the miracle... Again, another powerful poem written to this prompt!

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