A Mother’s Mourning
©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
I miss you in this world. You’re gone
before my heart was ready.
(Though readiness was not on the horizon.)
Not one of us passes through life without being touched by death and grief. Initially, I had only a handful of poems dealing with that topic. I did not feel a specific category on death and grief was necessary for this website. Sadly, after the loss of a child (my youngest son) in 2018, that has changed. This new topic includes 40 poems on death and grief, written as part of my own grieving process. I hope this category helps other bereaved parents find and use them as part of their own healing from the loss of a child.
FINDING THE POEM YOU WANT: As you scroll through this section, simply read each snippet sample (usually the first four lines) to get a feel for the poem. When you find something you like, click “CONTINUE READING” to view the entire poem.
(My poems about death are here for non-commercial purposes only. Please include full copyright information on every copy, emailing a request for permission before using. For internet use, a link back to this site is required. May peace and comfort be yours on this difficult path.)
I miss you in this world. You’re gone
before my heart was ready.
(Though readiness was not on the horizon.)
The boy in you lives on in me.
I hold close every memory
of soft blue eyes and thoughtful gaze
and all your cute, endearing ways.
Sometimes, my brain works overtime,
hell-bent to redesign the past.
What if… If only… Why… Why not…
a litany of grief miscast.
What do others see
who look at me
I am cracked pot
bird with broken wing
severed vine
unwilling shrine
The pair of you lit up our hearts,
shoulder-to-shoulder, full-grown men.
We saw in you the boys you were,
recalled the sweetness that had been.
I look ahead and dread the view,
a tunnel of days to get to you,
a tunnel of looming days until
I see your face and drink my fill
of all you are and all you mean,
a tunnel of days that stand between
me and the gift that once was mine –
to stand beside you, shade or shine.
I guess I always knew
he wasn’t mine to keep,
and yet I prayed he’d stick around
until I went to sleep.
The ocean pounding on the shore
Awakens with a crashing roar
Reminds me that you are no more