The Second Time Around

Join Mary Cole Patterson as she walks through The Second Time Around, a book of poetry primarily about her late husband, Roger. Read as she questions and prays her way through her husband's final battle for life here on earth. Smile as she notes he would be pleased with the specific day he died--Pearl Harbor Day--because having been a soldier in Vietnam was important to him.

Although grief is a difficult subject to approach, she does it through poetry in crisp quick images as in "How Did You Imagine It?" or with rhymes as in "The Hours in the Day Are Long."

"How Did You Imagine It?"--Close your eyes. Listen to the soft rustling of clothing as everyone sat down. Did you hear the varoooom of the cannons in the distance?

"The Hours in the Day Are Long"--My heart aches with missing you; I know it always will. My life's in a thousand pieces I feel.

Patterson lays out her personal agony for the world to see in hopes her words help you deal with your own loss. This walk for her was difficult. She prays her words assist you in your walk through your own grief, however recent it may be.