tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post865781387794352479..comments2024-03-29T07:42:02.917-05:00Comments on Live Your Poem...: GRIEF POEMIrene Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-4160531027252609392012-02-11T16:50:14.038-06:002012-02-11T16:50:14.038-06:00Mary Oliver's poems really get to the heart. T...Mary Oliver's poems really get to the heart. Thanks for sharing this one.Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01786457482835741494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-30191715075043867782012-02-11T12:50:51.883-06:002012-02-11T12:50:51.883-06:00Irene, I missed finding you yesterday. I'm so...Irene, I missed finding you yesterday. I'm sorry for your loss. We too experienced a loss in this past week. I have often turned to what I've called 'goodbye' poems when I experience a loss & sometimes have sent a poem to a friend with my note. I'm glad to hear you receive comfort from poetry in your grief. I find comfort in poetry for a myriad of reasons. Here is one I love & keep close: <br /><br />Sometimes Goodbye ...<br /><br />Sometimes Goodbye <br />is the hardest thing to say <br />Old times a mist <br />Old people--ghosts therein <br />And sometimes goodbye <br />is the hardest thing to do <br />Shadows of ghosts <br />forever etched on our souls <br />It matters not <br />If they be friend or foe <br />Good times or bad <br />We sit back and watch <br />While parts of our lives <br />Slowly fade into the backdrop <br />And a profound awareness <br />Washes over us <br />Mortality becomes realized, recognized <br />Forever seems like not such a long time <br />After all <br />However, good-byes must be said <br />They must be done <br />Old things must be released <br />To free our arms <br />For the embrace of the new <br />Knowing well that as we let go of some things <br />Memories live on <br />And etchings never fade.<br /><br />by Mandie McDougalLinda Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14983144542632353870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-37586266072285296772012-02-11T06:53:35.113-06:002012-02-11T06:53:35.113-06:00Tabatha, thank you SO MUCH for sharing this poem. ...Tabatha, thank you SO MUCH for sharing this poem. I didn't know it, and it speaks to me.Irene Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-50746905503679890512012-02-11T06:34:09.929-06:002012-02-11T06:34:09.929-06:00On a lighter note, are you going to join in Ed DeC...On a lighter note, are you going to join in Ed DeCaria's March Madness?<br />http://www.thinkkidthink.com/madness-2012/Mary Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078793537148794310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-11806432816459974132012-02-11T06:33:24.371-06:002012-02-11T06:33:24.371-06:00Both the Oliver poem you shared, and the Bass poem...Both the Oliver poem you shared, and the Bass poem Tabatha shared are perfect reminders. Grief is never easy, but to remember that no matter how painful the end is, we'd still chose to live, to love, to<br /><br />"hold life like a face<br />between your palms, a plain face,<br />no charming smile, no violet eyes,<br />and you say, yes, I will take you<br />I will love you, again."Mary Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078793537148794310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-33014379625510750372012-02-11T02:40:09.019-06:002012-02-11T02:40:09.019-06:00Hi Irene, like you when words are not sufficient t...Hi Irene, like you when words are not sufficient to make the pain go away, I turn to poetry. Just today, I posted a review of Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls on my blog - it also speaks of 'wordless truths riddled with pain' - a perfect book that knows grief and loss - not poetry, no, but close enough to make the pain ease up a little bit. :)GatheringBookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477710897574769648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-75495536995436255622012-02-11T02:38:12.046-06:002012-02-11T02:38:12.046-06:00I love this, Tabatha. Very very beautiful. :)I love this, Tabatha. Very very beautiful. :)GatheringBookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477710897574769648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-795514549480559712012-02-10T21:55:39.717-06:002012-02-10T21:55:39.717-06:00Oh, the letting go. SO HARD. Thank you, Ruth.Oh, the letting go. SO HARD. Thank you, Ruth.Irene Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-37044022051016629742012-02-10T21:55:13.548-06:002012-02-10T21:55:13.548-06:00Yes to Charlotte's Web and how death is a part...Yes to Charlotte's Web and how death is a part of life. Thank you, Jeannine.Irene Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-13994298722241396002012-02-10T21:54:39.961-06:002012-02-10T21:54:39.961-06:00not enough. Love you, girl.not enough. Love you, girl.Irene Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-52108756091529252612012-02-10T21:54:15.775-06:002012-02-10T21:54:15.775-06:00Thank you, Jama.Thank you, Jama.Irene Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-9792928418135064942012-02-10T21:54:02.479-06:002012-02-10T21:54:02.479-06:00Thank you, Joyce. Mary Oliver is so good at using ...Thank you, Joyce. Mary Oliver is so good at using nature to express human things.Irene Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-76989797844121652352012-02-10T21:53:37.533-06:002012-02-10T21:53:37.533-06:00Thank you, Robyn.Thank you, Robyn.Irene Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04905936104127707762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-56292383030530819482012-02-10T16:11:49.438-06:002012-02-10T16:11:49.438-06:00So true, you have to hold on and let go. And so d...So true, you have to hold on and let go. And so difficult.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12463332371535167975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-70188955583856476832012-02-10T13:57:16.748-06:002012-02-10T13:57:16.748-06:00I'm so sorry. I know that feeling. I love this...I'm so sorry. I know that feeling. I love this poem. It makes me think in some ways of Charlotte's Web, which I just read with the class, and the way he shows his great love for the world by putting death in the book, as part of the web and cycles. Take care of your beautiful self.Jeannine Atkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12886966069866356470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-46308055033988424282012-02-10T12:57:31.244-06:002012-02-10T12:57:31.244-06:00your friendship is all I need I shared the poem t...your friendship is all I need I shared the poem thanksPatricia J. Weaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06044354515656710902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-81862775529297871812012-02-10T10:10:22.856-06:002012-02-10T10:10:22.856-06:00So sorry to hear the sad news. The Mary Oliver poe...So sorry to hear the sad news. The Mary Oliver poem is beautiful. You're right. There's nothing for grief but poetry.jamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07859083373087448194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-40896147539457370592012-02-10T10:09:18.672-06:002012-02-10T10:09:18.672-06:00Beautiful poem, Irene. I love Mary Oliver and hadn...Beautiful poem, Irene. I love Mary Oliver and hadn't read this one. Poems often do say what we cannot find words for.Joyce Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02905709719444916488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-43755816331587155002012-02-10T09:04:53.727-06:002012-02-10T09:04:53.727-06:00So sorry for your friend, Irene. I wasn't fam...So sorry for your friend, Irene. I wasn't familiar with this Mary Oliver poem - it is beautiful, and its simple words difficult.Robyn Hood Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07279289715664168026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-64421392066968241992012-02-10T08:35:22.869-06:002012-02-10T08:35:22.869-06:00The first grief poem that came to my mind was &quo...The first grief poem that came to my mind was "The Thing Is" by Ellen Bass. <br /><br />The Thing Is<br />by Ellen Bass<br /><br />to love life, to love it even<br />when you have no stomach for it<br />and everything you've held dear<br />crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,<br />your throat filled with the silt of it.<br />When grief sits with you, its tropical heat<br />thickening the air, heavy as water<br />more fit for gills than lungs;<br />when grief weights you like your own flesh<br />only more of it, an obesity of grief,<br />you think, How can a body withstand this?<br />Then you hold life like a face<br />between your palms, a plain face,<br />no charming smile, no violet eyes,<br />and you say, yes, I will take you<br />I will love you, again.Tabathahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14367572663591077922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375684657483536810.post-65280097528165627442012-02-10T06:33:47.190-06:002012-02-10T06:33:47.190-06:00Thank you for sharing this poem. I lost a very spe...Thank you for sharing this poem. I lost a very special friend this week and it's been hard. These words help to soothe.SueBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01691637049504817968noreply@blogger.com