To Get Through

A thousand nights it seems
I've laid awake and lost my dreams.
Chasing down elusive sleep-
Eyes still wet but tightly closed.
Kleenex under the pillow to wipe my nose.
Ah tears:
Just when I think I've cried them all.
Just when I think I was doing okay.
Some new hurdle in this loser's race.

Young yet in years but
My soul feels ancient.
Not the first and
I won't be the last
To feel this sting.
To howl and blast
Silently away at life's tough love.

Days pass by and the thought crosses my mind:
While doing her laundry and
Trying to tempt her with lunch
Where is the fairness?
Why is fate so unkind?

She struggled along so many of her years.
Making ends meet and
Drying her childrens' tears.
Caring for her own mother when she fell ill.
Scraping and clawing to pay all the bills.

Now for her efforts
She is rewarded like this-
Independance stripped away
Along with her health
A sickness that took over,
That hid too long in stealth.


I can't cry for the future,
Though I cry for the past.
The present sometimes numbs me
Though the numbness doesn't last.

It's true that life is a journey
With so many twists and turns.
Even in the bleakest of hours
There is always something the heart learns.

Love is amazing.
It is a light that never goes out.
It is a candle the wind cannot blow out.

Through tears and pain,
Through loss and gain,
Through it all
Again and again-

Love has seen me through
In the arms of angels
That I call my family.
Though the bonds have been tested and
We all struggle to stand,
When one of us falls
There is the strength of an out-stretched hand.

I wish for many things and
My thoughts take many turns.
Sometimes my emotions leave me cold.
Sometimes they burn.

To all who read this and
Know of what I write:
I wish you all strength and comfort.
I wish us all many more chances
To find joy where we can.
To rise above what weighs us down and
Get us through.
To get us all through.