The Poetry of

Genevieve Elizabeth Cunningham


Introduction:

These poems are being published May 29, 2002. After studying the history of Genevieve we discover 3 catastrophic events that occurred in her life.

1) Genevieve's Mother Frances (Fannie) Orange Grey Cunningham dies November 15, 1959
2) Genevieve's Husband William Bain Cormack Born February 21, 1902, Died May 17, 1960 seven months later
3) Genevieve's Father John Patrick Cunningham Born dies in October 13, 1960 five months late

Perhaps these poems reflect these events and the impact they had on her.

SEARCH

I could not find the answer
In the city
Although I looked at all the people
Passing by
It must be in the eternal ocean, I thought
So I hurried to the seashore
And wandered on the sparkling sand
I stood and looked away over the restless sea
And contemplated the moving water
It had almost always been there
Before
It would still be there
Long after
But it did not yield the answer
So I thought that it might be found in the deep of the forest
And I went away
High up into the hills I climbed
And I wandered in the shadows
A pigmy to the rooted giants
It was cool and restful in the woods
I stopped beneath a tree
In the quiet
And pondered the everlasting renewal
But the answer was not the one I sought
So I was weary, as I turned back to the city.
When I neared my house again
A friend
Welcomed me home

G. E. Cormack - 1963


NONE

I am groping my way
In the darkness
The fiends
And the fantasies
Watching
I am lost
In the Valley of Blackness
Breathing ever so faintly
I listen
Not a sound can be heard
In the stillness
And the shadows close in
To surround me
They merge
And the night becomes heavy
They grow
And they press
All around me
I scream for a light
But there is none
I struggle
And beg them for mercy
As the night throws its weight hard upon me
While its phantoms now silently hold me
With iced fingers
So strong
So
Familiar
I lie helpless
With fear
In the Valley
As the Shadow of Death
Falls upon me
I am ravished with cold
And exhausted
I pray for a light
And there is none

G. E. Cormack - 1963