Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Darkness, A Poem

Originally posted on September 7 2014

In the darkness, I cannot help but think of you
My mind goes to that emptiness that now surrounds me
My heart aches with the knowledge that you are gone
The darkness emphasizes the moment of your death
And I cannot help wondering how I continue to breathe
Overwhelmingly sad doesn't begin to describe
The bitterness that envelops my sorrowful soul
Happiness seems to slip from my grasp
The absence of light pushes joy into anguish
The hand reaches for it, but the heart says no
There can be no glimmer in this bleak shadow


photograph, my property

Pondering Grief

Originally written Jan 20, 2014

As I sit in my bed in the wee hours of the morning, I'm thinking how I have spent nearly every night for the last 384 nights like this, wide awake.

Awake and heavy-eyed, I am pondering grief. Grief affects every person in a manner unique to themselves. My husband and I have grieved very differently from one another since losing our son a year ago.

He's very private; I'm very public.
He doesn't want to cry in front of the kids; I have cried many, many times in front of the kids.
He doesn't talk about his feelings with his friends; I want to talk about my feelings with my friends.
He feels the need to go to the cemetery often; I feel like I should go to the cemetery, but I don't really want to go.
He has turned to God because our son's death makes no sense; I have turned away from God because our son's death makes no sense.
He trusts God; I fear that I can no longer trust in anything.

We both miss him so much that it hurts. We have both felt like running away since Nolan's death. We both have aged probably five or ten years in the last year. We both have shed innumerable tears. We will both love our son until the end of time.