Word Pictures
She came from a family of fast talkers, but her mind moved faster than her tongue. She was quick to the heart of a matter, quick to sympathize, quick to draw conclusions but quicker to draw, pencil scratching faster than words could form. She thought in cartoons, in word balloons; words slowed as they left her mouth, arrived late, fell into conversations out of sync. She misspoke, miscued, forgot punchlines, missed the boat, missed the harbor more. Spent years searching her purpose, college, marriage, family, writing, hundreds, thousands, millions of words, newsletters, blogs, brochures—till words began to billow out in pictures, render sunsets in pastel, cloud banks in charcoal, etch sadness and hope onto shorelines in ink.
The poem first appeared in The RavensPerch, and can be found in the chapbook Throughline by Cora McCann Liderbach (Finishing Line Press). The chapbook is available at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/throughline-by-cora-mccann-liderbach/
Throughline weaves a #poet’s #life story together from childhood through twilight years. Born to warring parents, afflicted with a #disability in adolescence, the author never stops searching for meaning, peace and partnership. She eventually learns that finding “reasons to celebrate” in trying circumstances—including a pandemic—and creating lyrical, playful “word pictures” bring serenity, connection and fulfillment. This volume you hold is a snapshot of her journey.
Cora McCann Liderbach lives on the shores of Lake Erie in Lakewood, Ohio, with her husband. Prior to writing poetry, she enjoyed a long career in hospital marketing as a writer and editor. Liderbach lived with a condition called essential tremor from the age of 15. By the time she reached her 70s, it had become debilitating, and she underwent life-changing deep brain stimulation surgery. The experience inspired some of the poems in this collection.
The Paddock Review 