Catherine Marie “Katie” James

Hwy 12/18, east of Madison, Dane Co. [Lat: 43.040799, Long: -89.246087]

Roadside Crosses

Like the Inuit’s inukshuks
made in the image of man,

these
markers,
signposts,
compass roses,

lead
to a place not on any map,
to unknown country.

Necklaced with flowers,
strung with beads,
ribbon-wrapped,

wind-whipped
on hillsides,
in ditches,
in fields,

these raw cruxes of loss,
lit
with dirt,
diamonds,
and rain.

~ Susan Elbe NOTE: Inukshuk (pronounced “in-ook-shook”) is an Inuit word meaning in the image of man. The Inuit built these lifelike figures of rock along Canada’s most northern shores to serve as signposts to lead the way in treeless tundra.

  • Our daughter was killed by a drunk driver on Feb24,1996…Her cousins Rick and Teri Galbraith were seriously injured by the driver. It took several months to years to recover from this horrific accident. It still hurts us and our extended family to this day. Its like a cut you get on a finger and slowly the cut heals, but it could take years…Dan and I will always remember the day that Katie was killed its like yesterday. We have two older children and we know Katie’s death affected them but they don’t talk about it much. We have so many people to thank and too many to name.

  • https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3d1bf9fc637d7cff5b9f6fe574bda9011595d5a01354c61d8f52b6470090899e.jpg Katie wrote a poem in 5th grade . It is about Peace…..The world goes around and around to see the little children play. To help parents find their way and to wait for a brand new day. There are people in this world who want their way but that cant happen right away. Some are waiting for peace to come. Some cant wait to hurt some one. Cant we all get along some day, some way.

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