Farewell, Paula

I’m getting out a special cup

A mythic cup painted with imagery of artists

A work of art inscriped on a cup

A cup my husband bought in 2016

The very year I met you

I drink from my cup, thinking of you

How you came to Fairest’s release party

The first release party I ever had

You encouraged dead characters to live again

Cheering them on in demanding their own novel

Quartz is his uppity self with a monthly blog

All due to your influence

Nor was Quartz the only one you influenced

You gave so many characters a voice

Encouraging them with your Wednesday Words

You persuaded my inner poet to stretch her wings

She made your midweek ritual mine

I’m getting punched in the gut

Every time I remember you’re gone

I’ve got stories and poems set up

All the way to the end of 2024

Inspired by your prompts and words

I’m going to keep on responding

Until I run out of your prompts

I’ll keep sharing stories and poems

Your Wednesday legacy to me

R.I.P. P.T. Wyant

I cry, thinking of the snow that will fall

Snow that you’ll never see

I cry, thinking of the dogs searching for you

Sniffing for someone they’ll never find

There’s a void that will bleed without you

I’ll carry on writing as I bleed

Thinking of all the projects you were juggling

Right until you couldn’t juggle

There’s never enough time

I cry for all you couldn’t finish

I’ll still carry on, finishing what I can

Juggling my many projects

You saw inspiration everywhere

Even if you didn’t call it by that name

You were brave enough to share

Casting out ideas to inspire us all

Thank you for the precious gift

Thank you for celebrating our snippets

We are richer for having known you

We shall carry you in our hearts and minds

As we carry on.