August Poetry-About Death and Grief
When grief shows up
Grief can have a life of its own. It slips into the cellular structure of memory and implants itself into the sinew of the body. The anniversary of the death of a loved one can resurrect ghostly traces of something amiss. For me, it is August, the month in which I began the journey towards death with my loved one. As surreptitiously as a thief, it steals away my joy leaving an aching heart. Staying with this ache opens the chasm of grief revisited and the path to healing.
On this August morning, I allowed the flow of tears to bring the words that I share today with you. If you are inclined, you may visit the hub I wrote last year: Unresolved Grief.
Thank you for reading and I invite you to leave a comment about your own experience with grief. It truly is a universal experience.
It is August Again
It is August again.
I awaken throughout the night
Not knowing what is wrong,
My heart beating wildly against my chest...
A captive bird desperate to be free.
It is August again.
The remembrance of that fatal month
Begins to slip into consciousness;
An ugly stain on the white linen of Summer’s joy;
The voice of grief unwilling to shut up-a noisy clamor in my head.
It is August again.
Melancholy wraps itself around my ankles tripping me
like tangled vines that creep along the forest floor.
I want to sleep; pull the blanket of despair over me and shut out the world.
In silence the tears drop…in the recess of my room I wail in self pity.
It is August again.
A time for gentle understanding,
And, retreat from the brash demands of life.
It is a kindness to the Soul to rest in Compassion’s quiet,
A healing balm-cool and refreshing, it assuages the grieving heart.
Written by Denise Handlon, August 10, 2011 All rights reserved. No portion of this poem may be used, copied or reproduced in any matter without the written permission of the author.
My Aching Heart
The emptiness in my belly
Is a low rumbling like a train.
Where are you?
I am alone on this journey
That I must solo and I am afraid.
Tears fall from my aching heart.
It weeps for the memory of you, my Beloved.
Your warmth,
Your laughter,
Your embrace…
Let the tears fall, then
And drown me in the anguish of separation.
My body will float to the ocean.
My spirit will rise above the sea.
Meet me in the ethereal world
Where once more we will be
Impassioned lovers.
One heart forever more.
Written by Denise Handlon, August 10, 2011. All rights reserved. No portion of this poem may be used, copied or reproduced in any matter without the written permission of the author.