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a poem written about the grieving process |
Labyrinth Path of polished marble Inlaid among ebony lines of stone Bleak, frigid sky Wind moans in the dry, chattering grasses surrounding the maze. Dead but still beautiful in their winter tan, fronds and tassels dance tall and lively above my head. I breathe deeply, remembering lost ones… sister, child-friend, baby boy, and countless victims of tsunamis and hurricanes wrenched from our grasp on a wave of grief. I step forward on the path, mindfully breathing and walking, left foot, right foot. Once on the tangled grief web, there is only way in and one way out. The way out is the way through. If one walks with an open yet wounded heart (for all such hearts are vulnerable by definition) there are no blind alleys. We must face each step weighted with our pain our memories, our loss. No signs are on the twisting, circling and returning pathways. For those seeking a shortcut, a faster and less painful way through, there is only compromise of the living Self dying a little at a time in order to avoid the ache. We use our society’s addictions: drugs, abuse, mind-numbing media beating us with brickbats of nonsense. In choosing this direction, we never reach the resolution of our agony, prolonging the dying of our own spirit little by little. Each of us must find our way on this grief road. Irony: there is no getting over, no true ending, just learning to live with loss as the twists and turns of the warren change under our feet. We cannot control the direction. Sometimes we look down and with heart’s gladness see the images of our lost ones reflected back from the shiny, day-reflecting stone gifts of memory and presence that touch our lives. I climb the curving gravel mountain road where my sister left this world A goldfinch, all yellow and black, alights close by on the tree of my recollection, staying near for so long pipes deep comfort with its song, a nearness of siblings. Every trip round the maze becomes a little easier to bear. We say the Serenity Prayer ten times a day and try to apply it to our lives. May we walk the way of healing and peace, taking it back to the world from our quest. |