Norma-lly

I first met Norma West Linder at a local writers’ group called Writers in Transition. Over the years, she was a kind, gentle, and encouraging mentor who assisted many with the craft of writing. In addition to being a prolific writer, she was an avid Scrabble player. I regret not playing the game with her, but I always enjoyed her company during our many chats and visits in her home and at literary events. She leaves an emptiness that will be difficult to fill.

Norma-lly
In Memory of the late Norma West Linder

I shake off cobwebs and open the box,
hoping to unscramble those memories,
the mixture of poetry and fiction
by so many deceased writer friends,
and now thoughts of Norma too!

I scrabble the words – those wooden tiles-
UP and DOWN – like miniature headstones
on her favourite board game.

Grief is a five-letter word,
worth a minimum score of nine.

Nothing normal about Norma’s ability
to rattle her opponents.

She was keen as the ‘Wordsmith Queen’.

Typically, habitually, as a rule,
she toyed, no, played, had fun,
with her nouns and verbs,
adverbs and adjectives,
norma-lly, sometimes ab-norma-lly,
with a puzzled look, then a grin
as she consistently fitted
each letter precisely together,
then added up her final winning score.

Unfortunately, we never played
Scrabble together,
but I still mourn the loss.

Heart is another five-letter word,
worth a million points in my view.

Norma wore her heart like a living corsage,
pinned on her sleeve,
each dropped petal, now a pulse,
a memorial lifeline, a kind word or two,
left with her family and friends.