Birth-Celebrating + Birthday Poem #2
+++
Slightly less emphatically than her bro
(As ounces go) she appeared gracefully
In my still-broken life with angel’s glow
Befitting a daughter’s birth on hotly
Contested, oh-blazing-like-sages day
For the ages. From cradle, sensitive
As springtime sky and summer-wild bouquet
And autumn sun. Ice-like competitive
Too — revealed as she grew and played on field
Of green. But first: Mohawk infancy, shock
Of dark hair, unlocking a youthful yield
To rebel ’do — now, new, she’s on Life’s clock.
Dad unseen, undo, hew, renew her true —
In Way this human dad could never do.
© Bruce William Deckert 2022
+++
Related Post:
Birth-Celebrating + Birthday Poem #1 — in Luke’s honor
+++
October 27, 2022
POETRY 411 NOTES
• Birthday Milestone for My Daughter
Kayla Anneliese Deckert was born 27 years and three months ago — give or take three days — to glad and proud parents Bruce Deckert and Mina Elizabeth Sykes Deckert, at 2:11 a.m. on July 30, 1995.
Today, the day this sonnet is being posted, happens to be Mina’s birthday. The following thoughts in honor of Kayla’s and Mina’s birthdays are restated — for helpful emphasis and for good reason — from my sonnet post honoring Luke Deckert’s birthday earlier this year … and away we go:
Kayla and her older brother Luke are dynamic human products of a true marriage marked by true love.
Since Mina and I started dating on November 8, 1986 — after meeting in 1984 — our relationship has been marked by more ups and downs than a roller coaster … friendship brewing like good strong coffee, marital hurts and anger flaring sometimes too often, and then friendship and passion renewing.
Yet the bottom line, from my vantage point, is that we’ve shared real love aka true love — a real-life and real-world and genuine relationship — and that’s the best love and best connection, in my book, even in the face of our more recent heartache. Far better than a beyond-marriage, way-beyond-the-boundary-of-the-Pride-Lands “romantic relationship” that chases fantasies and false love.
It is hard to comprehend that Kayla’s birth occurred nearly three decades ago — wow, 27+ years evidently goes by in a few blinks of the eye.
By the way, Kayla married Andrew Tyson on July 1, 2017 — so her name now is Kayla (Deckert) Tyson — and yes, I’m now proud of my son Luke and my daughter and son-in-law, who is in the final stage of training to become a Green Beret in the U.S. Army Special Forces.
Oh, one more name note: Kayla’s middle name (Anneliese) is a nod to my Mom, Anneliese Stickel (Deckert) Baker, aka Kayla’s Grammy — she passed away in August 2009 at 72 years of age.
• Storied Sports History
This blog focuses on faith-and-sports issues, so each FAST Sonnet in Cyberspace has a sports connection.
In this case, the most visible sports-related line in Kayla’s sonnet is this one: “Ice-like competitive / Too — revealed as she grew and played on field / Of green.”
Kayla’s stellar sports, academic and career history has been evident throughout her life — in the sports realm alone, she played at Messiah College, a small-college soccer powerhouse, where she excelled as a two-time First Team All-American.
For a list of her soccer honors and accomplishments, see her Messiah Women’s Soccer bio — click here — and naturally, I’m proud of her character intangibles and off-the-field accomplishments too.
• Sonnet Rundown: Less Is More
This is an English (aka Shakespearean) sonnet — a 14-line poem with 10 syllables per line, featuring three four-line stanzas and a closing couplet, with this rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
In my book, the sonnet is the best poem structure for the time-challenged and smartphone-distracted residents of the 21st century — instead of lengthy and laborious free verse, the sonnet offers a quick and power-packed literary roller coaster … here’s hoping you’ve enjoyed this ride.
A Slow Life in the FAST Lane 