Poems

[Proud Wife]

Please add to this if you can, I personally take a lot of comfort from reading poems such as these and if poetry can help anyone else.....

"I had my own notion of grief.

I thought it was the sad time

That followed the death of someone you love.

And you had to push through it

To get to the other side.

But I'm learning there is no other side.

There is no pushing through.

But rather,

There is absorption.

Adjustment.

Acceptance.

And grief is not something you complete,

But rather, you endure.

Grief is not a task to finish

And move on,

But an element of yourself-

An alteration of your being.

A new way of seeing.

A new definition of self."

"Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I did not die.

I am the song that will never end.

I am the love of family and friend.

I am the child who has come to rest

In the arms of the Father

who knows him best.

When you see the sunset fair,

I am the scented evening air.

I am the joy of a task well done.

I am the glow of the setting sun.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I did not die"

[Linda G]

This is a poem I wrote to begin my husband's memorial book,

My Darling Stewart

Everything seems so bleak right now without you by my side.

The past eight months were so very hard, remember how we cried?

You tried so hard to stay with me but it wasn't meant to be.

Now I'm left without you and the future's hard to see.

You are the owner of my broken heart, my life, my love, my friend.

I don't know yet how to carry on or if my grief will end.

I promise I will try so hard to learn to live again,

To let our families and our friends guide me through this pain.

When I'm sad I know you'll be there, helping me to cope.

And when I'm happy you'll be there too, filling me with hope.

I will always cherish the memories of the wonderful life we had,

All of the memories happy ones, because there were no bad.

It is an honour and a privilege to call myself your wife, to have comforted and cared for you in the final months of life.

I love you with all of my heart and soul, and as hard as it was then,

I know that if I had to I would do it all again.

Your devoted wife

Linda

[PCUK Nurse Jeni]

Wow Linda!

This is utterly Amazing!

Absolutely beautiful.

Thank you for sharing.

Jeni,

PC Specialist Nurse,

support Team.

[Ant11]

Such a beautiful idea, and Linda such a special poem.

I would like to add a couple.

As I sit in heaven and watch you everyday,

I try to let you know with signs I never went away.

I hear you when you’re laughing, and watch you as you sleep.

I even place my arms around you to calm you as you weep.

I see you wish the days away, begging to have me home.

So I try to send you signs so you know you are not alone.

Don’t feel guilty that you have life that was denied to me.

Heaven is truly beautiful, just you wait and see.

So live your life, laugh again, enjoy yourself, be free.

Then I know with every breath you take

You’ll be taking one for me.

Plus this one that Georgia read at her Mum Tracy's funeral only recently:-

A Mother's Love

A Mother's love is something

that no on can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

even though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation . . .

A many splendored miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God's tender guiding hand.

Thank you to those sharing and for the comfort it brings. Annette xxxxx

[Linda G]

PW, this was such a good idea of yours to start a "poem" thread.

Jeni, thanks for the comments, It took me about 3 days to write it as

[Linda G]

oops - Wasn't quite finished - Jeni, it took me three days to write as I wanted it to be personal to us (and I cried for England - just as I am reading these now).

Annette, the two poems you have posted are absolutely beautiful. Look forward to more!

Thank you

Linda G

xxxx

[Proud Wife]

Joining you in tears today Linda, I have read and re-read your amazingly worded, tender, loving poignant poem for Stewart. I think you have a bit of a talent here!

Thank you Annette for the poems you've added to the collection. I loved the first one in particular, it's something that I really believe in. Only problem is we are all going to spend an awful lot of money on kleenex on this thread!xxx

[Sueoliver]

I would like to add this one as Mum loved her garden,

In God's Garden

God looked upon his garden

And found an empty place

He then looked down upon this earth

And saw your tired face

He put his arms around you

And lifted you to rest

God's garden must be beautiful

He only takes the best

He knew that you were suffering

He knew you were in pain

He knew you would never

Get well on earth again

He saw the road was getting rough

And the hills were hard to climb

So he closed your weary eyelids

And whispered "Peace be thine"

It broke our hearts to lose you

But you didn't go alone

For part of us went with you

The day God called you home

You left us beautiful memories

Your love is still our guide

And though we cannot see you

You are always at our side

Our family chain is broken

And nothing seems the same

But as God calls us one by one

The chain will link again

I hope you all like this one.

Sue xxx

[sandraW]

Linda,

That was truly amazing, written from the heart, it was beautiful thank you for sharing it. sandrax xx

[Linda G]

Thanks PW and SandraW, at it again now reading Sue's poem, industrial sized loo rolls required I think!

Sue, it is wonderful. I have seen separate verses before, used as part of obituaries in the local press but I have never seen the complete work. Very stirring and emotional. It's strange how poetry can reduce you to tears and yet soothe and comfort at the same time.

Thank you .

xxxx

Linda

[Proud Wife]

Posting Judith16's beautiful poem which I am dedicating to my hubby.

Forever in your heart.

"Feel no guilt in laughter, he knows how much you care, Feel no sorrow in a smile, that he's not there to share, You cannot grieve forever, he would not want you to, he'd hope that you would carry on, the way you always do, so talk about the good times, and the ways you showed you cared, the days you spent together, and the happiness you shared, let memories surround you, a word someone might say, will suddenly recapture, a time, an hour, a day, that brings him back as clearly as though he was still here, and fills you with the feelings, that say he's always near, for if you keep those moments, you will never be apart, and they will live forever, safely locked within your heart"

[PCUK Nurse Jeni]

So Beautiful PW!

Jeni.

[Guest]

God's Garden

THE Lord God planted a garden

In the first white days of the world,

And He set there an angel warden

In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,

That the hawk might nest with the wren,

For there in the cool of the even

God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden-closes

With their shade and their sun-flecked sod

And their lilies and bowers of roses,

Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke bread for us in a garden

Under the olive-trees

Where the angel of strength was the warden

And the soul of the world found ease.

Dorothy Frances Gurney

[Guest]

God Knows

I said to the man at the gate of the year

"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown"

And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way"

Minnie Louise Haskins

[Dandygal76]

Marmalade, they are lovely poems and I hope you take great comfort in knowing Louis is truly at peace and waiting until you are by his side once more. x