Monday, July 20, 2015

POEMS OF THE WEEK : On Grief ~ from Sumana, Annell, and Rosemary

This week, my friends, I thought for a little change of pace, since summer is so busy, we might simply enjoy three poems that knocked my socks off in the past few weeks, written by Sumana ( Vision ),  Annell  (Some Things I Think About), and Rosemary, (The Passionate Crone).  Each of these poets is moving through grief and loss, with such grace, faith and courage. Writing their journey, they inspire.

Turn on the bubble sound track, and take a pause that refreshes, each poem a single drop of peace, falling into the stillest of ponds. 



     
   

The first poem, Sumana's "Trust", really touched my heart with its message of unshakable faith, even after the recent devastating loss of her beloved daughter. 








I trust my sun who will always rise
I trust my stars who won't forget to light
I trust my Ganga* who will ever purify
and my Himalayas who will pull me to His height

My soul has taken bath in fire yet not burnt
My soul has withstood fear-storm undaunted
Waves of doubt could never blow out Thy name
The trust in Thou glows in my soul like a flame

Be my storm, fire, deluge whatever Thou Will
With faith, trust, love let my heart be filled

*Ganga is the Ganges




Sherry: Faith doesn't come any stronger than that. Such an uplifting and inspiring poem! Thank you, Sumana. Your courage humbles me.

Annell's "A Piece of Yarn", has such a gentle sorrowing beauty to it. Annell is moving through the one year anniversary of her beautiful son Jim's passing last June. Yet this poem offers a hopefulness at its closing, as the poet weaves the words, dries her tears and follows the bread crumb path home.





A Piece of Yarn


i opened the door      startled a pair of fly catchers      they flew in unison

a perfect circle... then another           before they flew skyward


i ride my weary steed across rough ground             we travel south

the sun already high in the sky... sunrise /sunset how quickly go the days...


these words follow me                     reminding me of their truth

is this the little boy at play      i don't remember growing older       when did you

it seems only yesterday you were small                    then... you went away

another summer/fall/winter/spring                    happiness & tears

one season following another          i did not think i could bear

 yet loneliness & sorrow stand          they are my companions

 i am learning to accept them...


sunrise/sunset                                                 swiftly fly the years

blue pavilions rise on the horizon...                     how to keep all that is past

is it like a piece of yarn          wound on a spool                  to be unwound later

to read the words written there                          weave into the fabric that is my life

dry the tears of yesterday...                      follow the scattered bread crumbs home



Sherry: I am so moved by "loneliness and sorrow stand / they are my companions." Sigh.  This is the way of life, as we move through our losses, incorporate them within, and keep on walking.  Rosemary's wonderful poem, "At The Turning Point",  picks up the journey at the two-year mark, and  says something about the adjustment to her new reality, two years after her beloved husband Andrew's passing.  Her poem really impressed me with how she is learning to keep moving forward, with love, a little farther along the highway of grief.








At the turning point
I greeted old friends
not seen for many months,
and said goodbye to a new friend
going for months away.

At the turning point
I danced and sang
with others in a colourful circle,
then moved to a chair at the edge
when they gathered speed.

At the turning point
I delivered a talk, hiding nerves.
I had to speak loud, and project
over an exuberant infant’s joyous whoops.
‘Such command!’ they praised. ‘Such a voice!’

I drove back home with new ease
around the scary bends
of the darkening road —
handling the car with confidence
at each turning point.

My angel sat beside me
only a little while.
‘You can do this now,’ he said.
I agreed, and acknowledged
the turning-point.

In the Solstice fire I burned
old fears, old guilts, old regrets —
leaving a space for new light
to begin and grow in me, here
at the turning point.

Sherry: I can see him, your angel: "You can do this, now." Somehow we grow our way through these huge changes in our lives.  Bravo, my friend. You are brave. 

Between the soothing bubbles and these three beautiful offerings, I hope your visit here has been a peaceful and inspiring  few moments in your busy summer day. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!


24 comments:

  1. What a poignant post this is today! Thank you, Sherry, for this. Grief is a subject that touches each of us at one time or another in life.

    Sumana, the first stanza speaks of your trust, and I don't think one can get through such a loss as yours without a trust in something deeper than self. And the words "My soul has taken bath in fire yet not burnt " really do show your strength of character in the light of such a loss, one that no mother should face. It is an absolutely stunning poem.

    Annell, the depth of grief in your poem is palpable. You have expressed the passing of years well...how you don't remember getting older. And how it seemed just yesterday he was small. And yes sometimes one has to learn to live with loneliness as a companion for a time....yet keeping inside yourself all that is past, to be unwound later. Your poem touches the reader deeply. So tragic to lose a son.

    Rosemary, your poem speaks to me of the moving on. I do think that in all grief there does come a 'turning point.' Sometimes we recognize it and sometime we do not...but it is there. I like the last stanza - the burning of old fears, guilts, regrets. I like the idea of making room for new light. And of him sometimes sitting beside you. Very well penned, Rosemary.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Sherry, for pointing out these poems to us. Death is part and parcel of our being humans and other people's poetry can help us when faced with its harsh reality. Each of these poems focuses on a different aspect of the grieving process in a unique way and their diversity in forms and messages is something I appreciate in your choice.
    Thank you Sumana, Annell and Rosemary for sharing your words with us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sumana and Annell are both wonderful friends, and in some way I have walked through this with each of them - in reading and in prayer. I agree, Annell, your loss has touced you so greatly, but I am glad you are continuing to write your way through it. And Sumana has definitely walked the fire and seemed to come out all the stronger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. X, I definitely agree with your comment about Sumana! Sumana, your poems lately have 'blown me away.'

      Delete
    2. Thank you so much dear friends....

      Delete
    3. Thank you X, yes, I have always known you were there.

      Delete
  4. All three of these poems are in my folder of poems I don't want to live without! Wow! They gave me a special moment with my own lingering grief and the odd way it expands me. I'm finding the music of Annell's especially moving today.

    I hope you do features like this more often, Sherry. But as for the peaceful bubbles? Am I the only one who tried the home fountains years ago but kept wanting to find and turn off the leaky faucet? One of my cats took to it. I'd bring back that bubbler if I could have a few more years with her. Otherwise, it stays dismantled on the shelf. Grin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You would not BELIEVE the trouble those bubbles have been. I was at my daughter's and her laptop did not like the bubbles. So I was unable to comment till I got back home, sigh. I tried for HOURS. No more bubbles!

      Delete
  5. All the poems are so touching . They have waded through the sea of pain and flowed like a river.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you Sherry for sharing my poem with two of the most wonderful poets Annell and Rosemary...I pray to God that no one treads the dreary, burning path that we have trodden...I can't say enough of the support that I have got and constantly receiving from you dear friends...Thank you all from the bottom of my heart....

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm very honoured to be included here with these two beautiful poets, both of whose work I admire greatly. Thank you, Sherry. And thanks to the commenters too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for sharing the work of these three wonderful ladies Sherry. Their poems are so touching to the heart and soul. Death and loss.. and the grief which accompanies can be so overwhelming.. please accept my deepest condolences... I wish you all peace and the strength to keep moving on. Know that you're in thoughts and prayers.

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

    ReplyDelete
  9. Three beautiful poems at three different stages of grief. Thank you ladies for sharing your journey of loss with so much grace yet still showing the honest struggle. Blessings on you all.

    ReplyDelete
  10. These three poems are exquisite for their sincerity and for the courage of each author to confront their sorrow and keep living. You made an excellent choice of poems Sherry. I love the bubbles too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. So glad you recapped these amazing poems of grief and the courage to move on....they left me in tears once again. Good cathartic tears with bubbles!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sherry,
    This is a breathtaking page filled with poetry so deep that it fills that endless well of everybody's heart..In poetry, pain becomes a soul journey with lessons and meaning. Exquisite pieces.... Thanks for sharing.
    Your poems are like work of art with a message of hope and renewal. Bravo, Sumana, Annell, and Rosemary.

    ReplyDelete
  13. All the three poems are so heart touching and soulful. I admire the resilience of these 3 wonderful poets and the poems that they have weaved in their grief have been imprinted in my heart. Thanks Sherry, for this beautiful post :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. It was my pleasure, friends. Each of these moving poems blew me away and I knew they should be featured, so no one missed them. Such courageous women, writing their way through sorrow and inspiring us with their grace as they do so. I apologize for my absence, I was away from home and my daughter's laptop and I do not get along. After the bubbles locking her laptop up, I doubt she will let me use it any more, LOL. I am now back home, trying to dig my way out of my inbox.

    ReplyDelete
  15. These were all beautiful. Thank you Sherry for bringing them all together like this.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Three courageous, beautiful and inspirational women - and poets..so nice to see the pieces together..it reminds that despite our individual lives and losses there is a caring and valued community here at poets united and the other prompt sites

    ReplyDelete
  17. wonderful sharing, Sherry. these words make us all more empathetic, more human in this environment of tumult

    gracias, mi amiga

    ReplyDelete
  18. Writing poetry gives a conduit for not only healing but encouragement to others who are suffering. To each of you beautiful three we are honored by your love, honesty and perseverance.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dearest Sherry I cannot thank you enough for including my humble poem, I guess for me, to write as honestly as I can, to get it out, to see it. Grief if a part of being human, we are taught each grief is unique, and yet...our grief helps us to have compasion, for others, as we all move through the grief of our own lives. There is always two sides of every coin...and poetry helps us to examine both our grief and our happiness. Happy that the ones we lose are in our lives, for they enriched our lives. It is hard letting go, a very hard thing for me. I really don't like 'change' too much, but that is what life is all about.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Such lovely comments........As Jae Rose says, there is a wonderful sharing among the members of this community, of which I am so grateful to be a part. Thank you, Sumana, Annell and Rosemary for the grace with which you walk this earthwalk.......you show us how!

    ReplyDelete

This community is not meant to be used in a negative manner. We ask that you be respectful of all the people on this site as each individual writer is entitled to their own opinion, style, and path to creativity.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Blog Archive

Followers