Tag Archives: bereavement

The third last word

Posted on March 22, 2016 by

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciples, “Here is your mother.” There is no changing one body … Continue reading →

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In memoriam

Posted on March 12, 2016 by

From the edge of the cliff we see no horizon. Earth, air, water merge, solid state dissolves, breath condenses, dessicates; we lick salt out of the sky. I drive him to the airport. Lumbering hulls filled with gear and stuff; … Continue reading →

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Breathing room

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

I have expanded since she left, as though she wedged me tight, her elbow in my side, that space whence God had made my other self; restored my second lung inflates; her voice still susurrates as I exhale.

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Waving goodbye

Posted on January 10, 2013 by

Whenever we left she wept, never knowing which time would be the last. (Sometimes, poetry is simply laying the ghosts out in the daylight.)

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God-parenting

Posted on September 19, 2012 by

Many years ago, when my first daughter was a baby, I heard a sermon which took parents to task regarding their Christian responsibilities to their children. There were various points, and a story. The story involved the preacher’s own infant … Continue reading →

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Candles

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

Today, my friend is burying his father, who died on Sunday, the sixth anniversary of my own mother’s death. On Sunday, I lit a candle for my mother at the back of the church, and a young parishioner came to … Continue reading →

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A gift

Posted on July 21, 2011 by

Shiny globes strung together to decorate a Christmas spirit; mere baubles, but I wanted them.   My mother loved them, too, so I bought them for her, and, whether out of guilt or generosity,   she said it was the … Continue reading →

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