Skip to content

Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education

Exploring Curiosity, Imagination, and Wonder

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • MARCH SOL – 2025 – Poems about Nourishment

Tag: Veteran's Day

Thank a Veteran

November 6, 2021 ~ wordancerblog ~ 2 Comments

Only then, did I start to put the traumatic pieces together and how his trauma became my trauma, not on the beaches of Okinawa, but in the suburbs of New Jersey. When my father was a soldier, PTSD was not a known disorder, and there was no help or treatment for World War II veterans. 

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
Like Loading...
  • A-Mazing Descriptive Writing with Children
  • Creating Calm: Mindful 8 Poems Inspired by Maine
  • Empowering Girls Through Poetry
  • Something Magical: Three Elements of Fantasy Writing With Children
  • Sparking Vivid Language and Poetry with Visual Prompts
September 2026
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930  
« Aug    
  • August 2026
  • July 2026
  • June 2026
  • May 2026
  • April 2026
  • March 2026
  • February 2026
  • January 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2016
  1. Linda's avatar
    Linda on A-Mazing Descriptive Writing with ChildrenAugust 25, 2026

    As a retired elementary teacher I can tell you how much I appreciate hearing the work you did on helping…

  2. Awakening Wonders's avatar
    Awakening Wonders on Creating Calm: Mindful 8 Poems Inspired by MaineAugust 19, 2026

    What a wonderful get-away before heading back to school!

  3. wordancerblog's avatar
    wordancerblog on Creating Calm: Mindful 8 Poems Inspired by MaineAugust 19, 2026

    Let me know what poems you create. Would love to read them!

  4. Debbie Lynn's avatar
    Debbie Lynn on Creating Calm: Mindful 8 Poems Inspired by MaineAugust 19, 2026

    I just love when our photos inspire our writing. Your poems were perfect for the pictures. And I need to…

  5. Anita Ferreri's avatar
    Anita Ferreri on Creating Calm: Mindful 8 Poems Inspired by MaineAugust 19, 2026

    Your poems are lovely and the photos divine, Those beach roses and shielded from the sea are magical reminders to…

Follow Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education on WordPress.com

2 responses to “Thank a Veteran”

  1. Fran Haley Avatar
    Fran Haley
    November 12, 2021

    Dear Joanne…I am at a loss for words here with this piercing piecing-together of poems, yours and your father’s. I can say I’m haunted, horrified, and amazed…your words stir so many thoughts and emotions that I cannot name or express them all. Our stories matter and others need them. Testimony being your father writing a memoir, another finding it, and thereby finding a path to healing. One of my favorite Hemingway quotes comes to mind: “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” Many, but not all… yet such strength emanates from your words, your lines, in the turning to poetry as a vehicle for coming “back from war not broken, but whole and blossoming.” Oh, the transformative power of writing! As the daughter of a WWII vet you remind us that us that we cannot even begin to gauge the long-reaching, crushing weight of a veteran’s sacrifice – the word “sacrifice” is not big enough to convey it or contain it. The cost is incalculable. I’m in awe of the families and love that survives, like those dandelions in the cracks…tell me you are writing your own memoir and that your poem will be in it as a haven, a rest stop, an encouragement for others traveling the same rubble-strewn path. Thank you for lighting the way ❤

    LikeLiked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. wordancerblog Avatar
    wordancerblog
    November 12, 2021

    Thank you – Fran! Your comment means so much to me. One of the gifts my father gave me is poetry, and I will always be thankful for that. It is the key to my healing. I have been writing a poetry novel memoir. It has been 75% done for ten years now. My poems in this blog post are part of the novel. I just cannot seem to find an ending yet. I keep searching. Your words help me find the courage to continue. Thank you again.

    LikeLike

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Dribbble
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education
    • Join 247 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
Loading Comments...
%d