Thursday, November 25, 2010

GIFTS


[Posted for  Poets United Thursday Think Tank prompt:
Thankfulness. It was written during another season of
gratitude and giving, but seemed
appropriate for today.]

My daughter's heartache
dimmed the lights
this Christmas.
Her raw grief
swamped our craft
and we both
went down.
But the spirit
is meant to try;
Hope lifts our feathers.
We point our noses
forward:
and, one by one,
the healing days
go by.

So yesterday
the sun came out;
the fog had lifted,
trees poking through
the mist
the way I like.
Coffee was on,
John Lennon and I
were singing
War Is Over and
Give Peace a Chance.
Soup was bubbling
on the stove,
the incense wafting.
Music is joy
and my feet
still can dance.

Today I sat
by someone's
dying mother.
How hard
she labored
to take
just one breath,
then another.
My Christmas gift
to God
I had thought
that this would be.
It wound up being
God's Christmas gift
to me.
I walked out
-on my own two legs-
past all the wheelchairs,
past those in bed,
into the falling dark.
Breathing in the fresh air
was a miracle,
the line between
my life and theirs
so stark.

Tonight at the end
of the road
I watched
a heron
lift elegantly
against the winter sky.
My daughter's voice
is growing
ever stronger;
her spirit
is remembering
how to fly.
My inbox
was full of love
as this
welcome
new year starts -
my life's true wealth
is friends
with golden hearts.

Even in pain and grief
-who doesn't have it?-
I remember
to be grateful
every day.
I am in love
with nature
and she is
all around,
so affluence
and plenty -
they abound.

Circling,
endlessly circling
through this stuff,
I make my way,
and I keep on 
coming home
to what's
"Enough".

What we're
looking for
is already
inside us.
What we
focus on
within our life
expands.
What we do
when things
get tough:
haul wood
and carry water,
use our hands
to give to
someone
who has
less than us,
sit with the dying,
remember the living,
write a poem -
assuage the loneliness
of the human heart
by giving.

My daughter, today :)

12 comments:

  1. This heart-felt piece has lifted my spirits today, Sherry and the picture of your beautiful daughter really exemplifies your message. Thanks for sharing this with us today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Being grateful - such an important theme. Enjoyed your poem; so authentic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is truly a poem from your heart and soul, Sherry! It's so true that 'what we're looking for is already inside us'...we just have to learn to recognize it, as you have clearly done...:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad! Sherry Ma'am,
    There's sufferings elsewhere, the world is not going to change overnight. We're thankful we don't suffer as much and thankful for what we have. You captured it so well!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you, kind readers. I'm grateful for all of you, as well:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Once again a beautiful piece of writing, Sherry. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. 'What we are looking for is already inside us'....... lovely words.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Aaahh, Sherry.
    I loved them when they were babes. When they were toddlers.
    And can't wait to see the women they will become.

    But I do realise the greatest gft is the gift of life. Each emotion, sorrow, and joy.

    Thank you Sherry.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sherry this is powerfully inspiring! I love every line....the picture of your daughter is awesome! Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving! :-)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate it and will return your visit soon.