Saturday, January 5, 2008

A Girl With A Sweet Smile




Musings About A Girl With A Sweet Smile.

A girl of ten,
In her new nautical outfit
In the long ago,
Smiling her sweet smile.

She was the beloved only child
Of her mother,
Holding a basket of flowers,
Smiling her sweet smile.

I have gazed at her picture,
Hundreds of times, as I wondered about her.
What was she like
The girl with the sweet smile?

But I will never know,
And will always wonder
About the girl with the flower basket,
Smiling her sweet smile.

She went to Heaven
On a cold January day
In the long ago, at the age of nineteen,
The girl with the sweet smile.


I'm not a poet, by any means, so these are only little musings in memory of my mother, who died when I was just 5 weeks old, the second week of January 1937, of pneumonia, in Mosorin, Hungary. The photograph is old and faded, and it's the only picture I have of her.

45 comments:

Nonnas News said...

sweet musings. What a precious picture of your mother.

Renie Burghardt said...

Thank you, Patti. It is a precious picture, isn't it? I wish I had others, but we lost all our pictures during the war, except for this one, which her mother somehow managed to hold onto.

Thank you for visiting. I hope all is well with you.

Renie

Leann said...

wrote you a long comment and the darn thing lost it and Iam short on time so Ill try again later.
((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))
love the picture of your mom cute little girl.

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Leann,

Blogger can be ornery sometimes!

Thank you for coming by. I hope all is well with you.

Hugs,

Renie

Michele | aka Raw Juice Girl said...

Hi Renie,

I LOVE your poem and the photo of your mother. I thought it was you at first until I read on!

It's tragic what happened to your mother, but you've turned your passion with words into a way to share her memory with your readers and I love how you always, always write such compelling stories - even blog posts!

I'm so glad you were able to hold onto this photo!

Magnificent Musings!

Smiles,
Michele

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Michele,

Thank you for your touching comment. I usually light a candle in her memory, every year at this time, in church, but this year, I decided to write a little tribute to her as well.

I appreciate your nice comment.

Blessings,

Renie

Michele said...

Hi again, Renie,

Just wanted to let you know your testing comment came through just fine!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your comments and thoughtful, sweet words are always appreciated!

Smiles,
Michele

Patty said...

Lovely tribute to your Mother. So, if you were five weeks old on the 5th. of Jan. you must have been born around Dec. 1st.? So Happy Belated Brithday Renie. Hope you had a great one. That makes me about two months older than you, I was born Oct. 27, 1936. Still hard for me to realize how old I am until old Arthur acts up and then I feel every bit of it.

Patty said...

Me again, I went back and found the entry for Nov. 25th. and checked it out, apparently that was probably my first visit, I was sent over from Merle's place. So I am only about one month older than you. But again, it's always nice to get late wishes, so again, Happy Belated Birthday.

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Patty,

Yes, November 25th was the first time you posted here, for my birthday.
I guess I must have been around 6 weeks old when my mother passed away. If my grandmother was here, I would know exactly, but my mother passed away the second week of January. I don't remember the exact date though.

I am glad you came from Merle's and we got to know each other. Yes, you are my senior by a month. LOL. We're both oldies but goodies, right? So is Merle.

Thank you for coming by. Tomorrow, I will light a candle at church for my mother, as I do every year.

Have a great weekend!

Renie

Pauline said...

How sad not to have known your mother and yet how wonderful that you've kept her alive all this time with your own life.

Renie Burghardt said...

Thank you for coming by, Pauline!

Blessings,

Renie

Karen H. said...

Good Evening Ms. Renie,
That is a beautiful poem and tribute to your Mother. I know you cherish that picture very much. Is there any way you can preserve it somehow? I am late in visiting tonight. We have been home about an hour and I fixed a quick supper for me and the girls. I am tired tonight. It's been a busy day and on the go. "THANK YOU" for sharing such a beautiful memory of your Mother. I just loved the poem as well. You sure do a great job with words. It has been a mostly cloudy day today. I think the Sun came out for a bit early this morning and then clouded up. On our way home tonight as we were coming into town, it started misting on us pretty good. It is 57 degrees as I'm typing this now. Take care my friend and have a great evening. May God Bless You and Yours.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Jmkdreak said...

I love that picture!
Nice post too.

xox

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Karen,

Yes, it got warm today, and 65 in the forecast for tomorrow. But the warmer weather is also bringing storms!

Sounds like you and the girls had a busy but good day.

Thank you for the nice comment on the musings. Have a great evening.

Hugs,

Renie







Drea,

Thanks, sweetie!

xox

Merle said...

Dear Renie ~~ What a lovely tribute to your mother and how sad that she died so young. At least you had your wonderful grandparents and I am so glad you have that one photo. She was a nice looking little girl.
Thank you for your comments on my blog and like you I am glad wrinkles don't hurt. Glad you liked the quotes and it's nice you had a bit warmer day as a break from the cold.
Take great care, dear friend, Love,
Merle.

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

Your poem is very touching. How different life would have been for you if your mother had lived longer.

My mother dabbled in poetry but it was only after she had died my sister found two poems she had written about her first child, at her birth , and then at her death, two months later. She spoke little of my sister but these poems were very personal treasures of hers,. . . .and now we treasure them.

Deborah Wilson said...

Renie,

She was very pretty - I can see that you look like her too..:)

What was her name?

Renie Burghardt said...

Dear Merle,

It was very sad that my mother died so young, and I always light a candle for her at this time every year. My grandparents were wonderful, so I was blessed, but I have wondered about my mother my entire life.

Thank you for the visit and kind comment. I enjoyed our beautiful, mild weather today. Hope you are having a great Monday. See you soon.

Love and blessings,

Renie





Philip,

Yes, I imagine I would have had a different life, had my mother lived, but it was not to be.

Thank you for coming by, and the nice comment.

Take care!

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Deborah,

Aww, thanks!

Her name was Irenke!

Did you go hiking? I'll have to pop over and see what's new on Corridors.

Thanks for stopping by.

Renie

Deborah Wilson said...

Renie,

Irenke is a pretty name.:)

Yes, I hiked today, and I had a good time, the weather is just right. I came home and did laundry, it's back to the old grind tomorrow! I haven't post anything new yet, I'll get to that tomorrow afternoon.

(I'm watching the New Hamshire politiking! (as if Iowa wasn't enough!) )

Grandy said...

Thank you, Renie, for sharing such a tender moment with us. It is beautiful!!

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Ms. Renie,
I'm here to have our morning coffee. It is a warm and windy day again today. They say we may have some Severe Thunderstorms tonight and into tomorrow. I hope it don't get too bad because I don't have a Storm Cellar anymore. It is currently 64 degrees right now. It did make it up to 70 degrees yesterday. When you have time, stop by. I have something for you on my today's post. Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours. "THANK YOU" for the coffee. I always love to have coffee with you. I've been awake since 2:30a.m.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Renie Burghardt said...

Deborah,

I beebopped around in my woods, Saturday, inspite of the drizzle, but was gone all day Sunday.

Well, I was named after her, but it's too hard to pronounce in English, so I go changed it, sort of, a long time ago.

Have a great week.









Grandy,

So nice to see you again. Thanks so much for the nice comment! Hope the New Year is bringing many good things your way.

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Good morning, Karen,

I just typed a long answer and Blogger had it for breakfast! Sheesh, and I'm short on time, too.

Yes, it's a warm morning, and storms in the forecast for tonight. Hopefully, they won't be severe. I hate when storms come at night, don't you?

I was gone all day yesterday, so have been catching up with some things around here already, as I will be out again, today. So will stop by later today, okay?

Coffee is delicious, don't you agree? Thank you for coming by. Have a great Monday.

Hugs and Blessings,

Renie

Patty said...

Good Monday Morning, believe it or not today the temp is a balmy 58 F. No wonder there are so many colds and flu going around.

Just wanted to let yhou know, we went grocery shopping yesterday at a Kroger's store about 12 miles from us. I told my husband I wanted to buy a True Confessions and he just looked at me kind of strange, and I explained I wanted to read your article. Also believe it or not, it was the last one on the shelf, I almost missed it, but since my husband is taller than me, he found it up on the top shelf. I certainly enjoyed the article, and so did my husband. Thanks for sharing that information so I knew what magazine to buy.

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Patty!

You actually bought a copy of True Cofession? LOL. As a writer, I send some things everywhere, including to True Confession, which is an easy market. I've been in several True's over the years. I'm more of a Chicken Soup kind of writer, but hey, the True's pay a little, so what the heck, why not?
LOL.

Thanks so much for telling me you enjoyed it. And even Abe enjoyed it? Wow, that's something! LOL.

Have a great Monday.

Renie

ancient one said...

Hi Renie,

Loved your musings and I would call it poetry. I love your mom's picture. I'm so glad you at least have that one! She was a very pretty girl and so sweet looking. I think you take after her.

Have a good day!!

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Ann,

Thank you for your sweet comment!

Blessings,

Renie

ancient one said...

Thanks for running over to see me. I took the first pictures, my husband took the last ones. We had 4 more kids born today.

I can spot people bells on any table at a yard sale, but I don't know if I've ever seen a bird bell. I will be looking... sure would love to see yours!!

Brandy said...

Hi my name is Brandy and I am new at blogging. I happened to stumble upon your page. The musings you wrote abou your mother are beautiful. If you dont mind, I would like to stop by from time to time to see what all you have to say, and if it is ok with you I would like to add you to my blog list. I look forward to hearing from you.
Brandy

imac said...

Hi.Renie What a beautiful poem about your Mother, so heart felt.
You have a very interesting blog and great stories and photos.
I think the tree in the moon pic just makes it. Your story about Austria is is great, when I saw the photo , I thought ah Austrian Alpes, we went there last year to Waidring in the Tyrol Valley, all my pics from there are in earlier posts.

Thank you for visiting my lil ol blog and your very kind comments.

Renie Burghardt said...

Imac,

I loved Austria, because of the beautiful scenery. I will be back to see your photos of Tyrol. We were in Tyrol as well, and climbed the Stein Meer mountain. That is a gorgeous area, if you love mountains. I also love Salzburg. It's my favorite city.

Thank you for visiting. I'll be visiting your blog often!

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Ann,

My little bells are just bell shaped bells with birds painted on them. I only have a few, so far. A cardinal, blue bird, hummingbird, and a goldfinch. I am looking for others.

Four more kids! How nice. They must keep your husband busy.

I'll take a pic. of my bells sometimes and show them, okay?

Take care!

Renie1

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Brandy,

So nice of you to stop by. I already paid a visit to your blog this morning. Very nice! Come and visit here anytime. Welcome to blogging. Lots of nice people out there to make friends with. I look forward to more visits from you. Have a great day!

Renie

Deborah Wilson said...

Renie,

Checking on you this morning - and everyone who posts here that live in the midwest. The weather channel reports bad weather in your area. Keep a watchful eye and stay safe!

Brandy said...

Good morning Ms. Renie,
I have been reading your blog. You are quiet an accomplished lady. I admire that. I do not know if you saw it on my blog, but I write as well. Never published though. I am afraid to try and do not know where to start, maybe someday I will figure it out.
Talk to you again soon,
Brandy

Renie Burghardt said...

Deborah,

There has been bad weather all around us, but not here. We've had a lot of rain, but not even one clap of thunder. I actually fell asleep and nothing woke me. But my son, Greg, was keeping an eye on our weather and told me last night he would call if he saw anything bad on the radar heading this way. We were just lucky, I guess, and now it has cooled off. A lot of rain in the area though. Thank you for thinking about us.

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Uh-oh, I hear thunder now! Got to run for now. Maybe I spoke too soon!

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Brandy,

You know, just as I replied to Deborah, telling her the storms around here weren't bad, it started to storm! So I had to get off the pc quickly. They finally blew away, and the sun came out.

You should not be afraid to try writing and sending some things in. Every writer deals with some rejection at first, but then some acceptances begin to come in, and it's a great feeling.

There are so many writing opportunities on the web. And there are blogs about writing. On my, Blog Roll, my young writer friend Michele blogs about Writing the Cyber Highway. Just click on that and visit her and read some of her encouraging posts. You will learn a lot. And there are countless other writers blogging.

Thank you for the return visit. Do come again. I will also visit you often. Have a wonderful day!

Renie

Merle said...

Hi again Renie ~~ Thanks for your comments and I am enjoying the fresh tomatos. Glad you enjoyed the mid-life story and the jokes and friendship quotes.
I hope you are having some better weather after the storms. Our days are getting hotter here, Take care,
my friend, Love, Merle.

audrey` said...

Dearest Renie

I'm so sorry to know that you lost your beloved Mummy when you were so young.
(((HUGS)))

Your Mummy is a very sweet girl with a sweet smile.

May our good Lord comfort you with His love and peace.

Please take very good care of yourself, Renie.

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Merle,

It's always a pleasure to see you. Cooler here, after the storm. Have a wonderful day.

Love,

Renie












Dear Audrey,

Thank you for coming by. I always look forward to your visits. Have a blessed day!

Love and Hugs,

Renie

Tina Coruth said...

Renie,

This is a beautiful poem, very touching. Your mother was a very pretty girl. I'm glad that you were able to keep at least one photo of her. Thank you for sharing her photo and your thoughts.

Hugs,
Tina

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Tina,

Thank you for cominjg by. Hope all is well with you.

Hugs,

Renie