Beautiful Bittersweet Life Poems

Exploring the world of life and grief through poetry.

Tag: Saying Yes to Life

  • Rising From The Ashes

    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.

  • Stumbled Upon: Embracing Life’s Unplanned Adventures

    Stumbled Upon: Embracing Life’s Unplanned Adventures

    When I sit down to write my autobiography,
    I will title it Stumbled Upon.
    For it is this unplanned life
    that sent me veering onto a path
    of unimaginable adventures.
    Often, I was catapulted by a lifequake*,
    brought on by the death of my husband,
    which left me adrift.
    And yet, I somehow found my footing.
    The steps were heavy amid the grief,
    but I kept walking and my steps grew lighter.
    Photography became a saving grace,
    as a continued bond to my husband,
    and kept me in the present moment
    when my eye was focused in the viewfinder.
    From capturing the beauty of nature to
    going to bars, something I hadn’t done since I was in my twenties,
    to photograph musicians as they played
    opened a forgotten part of my life that brought
    me both joy and finding kind people I call friends.
    By using my photography email, I ended up
    being the photographer for the Phoenix Film Festival.
    I’d never done event photography,
    but my saying yes to the unknown
    opened the world of independent films,
    filmmakers, and new friendships
    with festival attendees and volunteers.
    All these experiences led me to participate in
    a storytelling event on how my life had come
    full circle with my husband, photography and music.
    I stood on a stage where I had spent so many
    hours capturing musicians at work,
    sharing my story by heart
    with a few butterflies stirring in my stomach.
    As time goes on, and I adjust
    to my body’s capabilities,
    I have found new ways to feed the creative beast that lives within.
    Now, I spend my days expressing myself with art and improv.
    The beauty of letting go of a planned life
    is the richness that I never imagined
    and the communities that I have become a part of.

    *Lifequakes is a term coined by Bruce Feiler in his book Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age

    Photo credit: Neil Schwartz