I push against the soil,
as I seek once again to bloom,
to feel the warmth of the sun
upon my sprouts that have laid dormant, buried
in the depths of the earth.
My buds creep out into light
longing to be infused by its energy
with the vitality that I once took for granted.
I feel the gentle embrace of the spring breeze,
beckoning me to relax the petals,
and open again to the possibilities of living.
Category: life changes
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To Bloom Again
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Relentless Appreciation
Finding Joy After Loss
When the heart breaks open from the searing pain of
unbearable loss and the walls crumble to the ground,
the unimaginable happens:
relentless appreciation for what is left behind.
It streams from my soul with the force of a tsunami.
My love for those I meet in person and online has grown,
and I feel joy when I spend time in their presence.
My soul is filled with peace as I traverse the garden path,
captivated by the beauty of the flowering plants
and the perfumed, soaked air they create.
I watch the flying creatures with fascination as they busy themselves finding food and building homes.
I love the sound of birdsong, whether I’m wandering outside
or enjoying their symphony from inside my home.
For knowing there is but a short time
between birth and death, I breathe in deeply
all that life has to offer me. -
Letting Go, Finding Freedom
“Letting go is what keeps you alive.” Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, from “When Living on a Tiny Island.”
I squeezed my hands so tight that my knuckles turned white,
leaving red moon crescents imprinted on my palms.
Hoping that I could stop time,
and everything that lay ahead of me.
How foolish to think that I had so much power.
And yet, that was my habit,
the insanity that I had always employed
with no success.
It took time to release my death grip,
learning from the wisdom of others
that the only influence that I possessed
was over my own behaviors and thoughts.
Frankly, my brain can still be
the most dangerous neighborhood to visit.
When I slowly let go of that which I couldn’t control,
my body began to relax, and I could breathe again.
I learned that love was holding people in my heart,
no matter what our relationship was.
Giving them the dignity to follow their own path
freed me to follow mine. -
Rising From The Ashes
I was sure that the ashes of the life that I had
before my husband died would bury me alive.
The dull embers of what was left behind,
were threatened with extinction by the weight of grief
that encompassed my soul,
making each step, each decision exhausting,
as I traveled this world without my partner.And yet, with time and tears, the weight began to lift
as I reentered life.
No longer the woman I was,
for she will never exist again.
Instead, I had to find another me,
with memories of my previous life
serving as an anchor,
and sails to set me on my new course.If I had made a vision board,
none of the endeavors I would try
would have been within the scope of my imagination.
It was only when I was willing to say yes to life,
full of trepidation and anxiety, my world began to grow.
With each new adventure, I gained confidence.
My mantra became, “I’ve already lived through the
most painful episode in my life, how can anything be worse?”
The grief was still a companion,
but so was the joy of learning to be creative,
which has provided the most healing
for my broken heart. -
We Are All Connected
As the news showed the images
of the devastation of the midair crash in DC
followed by a jet crash in Philadelphia two days later,
my heart ached for the lives that were cut short,
and for their family and friends who were
entering a nightmare not of their choosing.
Having lived through the sudden death of my husband,
the life I knew was altered, unrecognizable
as my heart lay on the floor, shattered.
No longer could I see the tragedies of the world
as numbers, but as individuals whose lives
would never be the same again.
For it was in my awakening from the searing pain of grief,
that I recognized all of humanity is intertwined.
That we are meant to be with each other,
holding each other in compassion.
I couldn’t sit on the sidelines
in the face of others’ pain,
whether it was from the death of a loved one
or other losses caused by unforeseen life changes.
I knew I couldn’t take away their agony,
but I could share the gifts I had,
hoping to bring some comfort,
no matter how small.
Beautiful Bittersweet Life Poems 