Light the Lamps
©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson
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image by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
What do others see
who look at me
I am cracked pot
bird with broken wing
severed vine
unwilling shrine
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 over 90 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.)
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
He left in his own
time, his chosen way.
I find in me
no spirit
to begrudge it.
Easter means more to those who know
the echo of a voice unheard,
the sound of silence in the air,
the loss that leaves no parting word.
Dear child, you came into this world
and made the living sweet.
Right from the start, you owned each heart.
Your smile was bliss, complete.