They tell us to regret nothing, all those
sad and terrible times, when life was
so much harsher than your dreams,
and you spun in circles, trying to find
your way out.
They say those times got you to here,
made you the person you are today.
But how much pleasanter a journey,
if that unfolding had been kinder,
with less abuse. How hard would
it have been for life to gilt-edge
just a few of those encounters, left you
with some golden memories
among the pale and gaunt?
Never mind. Peace found you,
at mid-life, or, rather,
at mid-life, or, rather,
you carved away everything
that was not peace and claimed it
for yourself. You got here,
however bumpy the road.
The view is all forests
The view is all forests
and ocean sunsets now, and the hours
tick past, the days saunter by,
as friends.
As a Christian I always wonder about people who will go up to someone who's been through hard times and gush about how "GOD knew you NEEDED that experience!" As if talent had nothing to do with e.g. Joni Eareckson Tada's drawings, as if she would never have drawn a recognizable flower if she'd been able to use her hand... The Bible tells us who does "need" or at least want human suffering. I think some of these verbal abusers are "of that party without knowing it."
ReplyDeleteNo. Tell it like it is! For myself I can say positively that any compassion I feel for other people's suffering, I learned from times of peace and prosperity. Hard times taught me contempt for the human beings who either contributed to them, or failed to relieve them.
I feel this. That peace is still elusive, but that peeling away is what holds people together when in that state. And I agree with Priscilla too, hard times taught contempt and distrust, not compassion. People who come with platitudes know nothing of the suffering. This poem spoke to me in so many ways, Sherry. Thanks for writing it. Sharing on my blog too.
ReplyDeleteThis line was striking: " … you carved away everything that was not peace and claimed it for yourself." Sometimes we cannot achieve it when we seem to need it the most. But thank goodness a more peaceful existence can evolve over time.
ReplyDeletePowerful. It is hard to 'regret nothing' when one has gone through such hard stuff. I agree. But maybe you would not be the person today if you had not had the negative experiences, but then again we don't know. Never will find out. So I guess in the end the lesson is...don't regret, as regret solves nothing anyway. Sigh.
ReplyDelete