Taking Down the House
©2019 Susan Noyes Anderson
Today we bid the house farewell,
last of the last goodbyes.
Bare walls looked down on emptied shelves
as tears welled in our eyes.
Life Lessons Poems
Writing “life lessons” poems is one of the ways I connect with and learn from life. They help me move myself through the inevitable ups and downs with as much grace as possible. And what better way to find grace than in the words of a poem? Thank you for gracing me with your presence here, and don’t forget to send a request my way before using my life lessons poems. (Please include full copyright information on every copy. For internet use, a link back to the poem on this site is required.)
FINDING THE POEM YOU WANT: As you scroll through this section, 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.
The Song of Grief
A little over six months into this journey, I find myself trying to negotiate a sort of uneasy truce with the heartache of losing my son. I am realizing grief will be with me for a lifetime, and I feel like I’m closing in on a vision of how to carry it. On my best days, I let it sing to me, sweet memories of his life and essence that draw me closer to him and to the Savior.
©2019 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Ines Alvarez Fdez on Unsplash
I think that as the time goes by
I feel your absence more.
The stark finality of it
grows harder to ignore.
Magical Mourning: The Bargaining
©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Eli Defaria on Unsplash
Sometimes, my brain works overtime,
hell-bent to redesign the past.
What if… If only… Why… Why not…
a litany of grief miscast.
Still Waters
©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Annie Lang on Unsplash
image by Annie Lang on UnsplashO be not lulled by placid sea
nor lapping waves
of harmony
Brillig Lost, and Found
©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by casey horner on Unsplash
How have we been
reduced to this?
A pound of pain,
an ounce of bliss.
Life’s bloom is off
the wilting rose.
Our goose is cooked,
and so it goes.
Sisters Weekend
image by Priscilla Du Preez
It started with Moonlight
and Valentino and candles,
with life rushing by
us, eroding our
edges too fast.
Winding Down: A Window Pane on Parting
©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Mosoianu Bogdan on Unsplash
We sit.
She, burgundy chair.
Me, blue leather sofa.
Like so many times
before, days of yore.
She used to watch me,
claim me, eyes love-lit.
I’d blush. You’re staring, Mom.
But I put up with it.
Hold Fast to Hope and Fireflies
©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Warren Wong on Unsplash
I used to have a firefly inside me,
a certain spark against the dark of night,
her wings translucent threads of hope and dreaming,
her glow as magical as soft starlight.