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| from my art journal, 6.27.16 (gesso, acrylic glaze medium, acrylic paint, archival ink, found papers) |
Closure is
too final.
To grieve is to first hold loss
tightly
fisted to the heart.
There waves
of sadness
and longing
overwhelm
and silence
our world.
“Are we even living?” we wonder.
And still life pulses
and one day we too
begin to hear
beneath the tumult
of grief, faint
possibilities
sounding.
Friends,
all the while love remained,
opening wide spaces
for kindness and clarity
to grow.
To live
with loss
is to honor the love
we most grieve.
This moment of grace
helps us to gain
our feet and stand;
helps us to see
why there can be no closure.
I've never even wanted "closure" about my parents' deaths. I let myself miss them, and I don't worry about it. I feel this poem deeply.
ReplyDeleteI did want closure--or perhaps what I wanted was to not feel the pain. Rethinking that. Thanks:)
DeleteSuch a fitting description of the state of grief: "There waves of sadness and longing overwhelm and silence our world." Death often seems like defeat, but I feel triumph in your words "To live with loss is to honor the love we most grieve." Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Alice for your comments. Trying to make my way...
DeleteTo live with loss
Deleteis to honor the love
we most grieve.
This moment of grace
helps us to gain
our feet and stand;
helps us to see
why there can be no closure.
Your poem gives me so much to think about .
I just dreamt about Tuvia for the first time. The woman who wrote about closure to me came back and clarified that she felt I was reaching closure from the pain.
I feel that here so beautifully said.
You make such a beautiful case for the power of grieving. It's 3:30 and I've read this poem many times. Can I share it on my blog?
Bonnie
Yes of course . I wrote it w you in mind...
DeleteAnd still life pulses:
ReplyDeleteInvisible rhythms
of beating hearts,
the music merely
underneath it all --
entwined with sadness
and loss and memory --
a gentle hum
sometimes only we can hear.
--Kevin, lifting one of your lines from your beautiful poem
Love that. Thank you
DeleteWhat a beautiful poem and such a poignant exploration of grief. I recently listened to a discussion about grief and how our Western culture wants to see grief as a linear thing--go through these steps and then you're done!--but grief is far more circular and individual to each grieving person. So there is no closure, but there is grace and life. I personally think that grief reshapes the bedrock of our lives, forever changing the landscape. It takes time to rediscover the pulse of life and to step out into that changed landscape. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI feel similarly Molly. I know that losing Rob is changing me...
DeleteWhat a beautiful poem and such a poignant exploration of grief. I recently listened to a discussion about grief and how our Western culture wants to see grief as a linear thing--go through these steps and then you're done!--but grief is far more circular and individual to each grieving person. So there is no closure, but there is grace and life. I personally think that grief reshapes the bedrock of our lives, forever changing the landscape. It takes time to rediscover the pulse of life and to step out into that changed landscape. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLoss and grace - the path of grief. This is an exquisite poem, Mary Ann.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tara. I don't write in the firm often so it feels good to do so.
DeleteYou captured grieving beautifully...it's hard to imagine losing someone you love so much. I agree with Molly that it changes the landscape of our lives. We look at the world differently after loss. Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteThe world is different after loss. I must remember that. Thx
Delete"...and one day we too
ReplyDeletebegin to hear
beneath the tumult
of grief, faint
possibilities sounding."
This is exactly how it happens, and yet there are days, although fewer and farther between, when the tumult drowns out the possibilities. So we learn to live, as you so beautifully say, with loss..."of the love/we most grieve."
Wishing you comfort and peace.
Thank you Catherine.
Delete