Sunday, December 16, 2012

Where Light Comes From


in memory of all those slain in the CT school shooting


Sleep gives you no choice,
it closes your eyes to all that is precious,
leaving you resting in the hope
that it will still be there
when you wake.

Grief will not be held accountable
it lives where it will;
like sleep, once you have tasted it,
you never lose the memory.

Joy, too, comes over you
but in its wake there is no yearning.
It gathers you and your grief in its arms,
makes it safe to close your eyes,
and leaves a small flame
for the next time darkness falls.

14 comments:

Marion said...

"like sleep, once you have tasted it,
you never lose the memory."

Exactly. Thank you for this poem, Pauline...xx

Tabor said...

Lovely words, Pauline. So true.

My Maine Blog said...

You write so beautifully ... thank you for sharing such a heart felt sentiment and I know that what you have written is so very true.

My Maine Blog said...

Thank you Pauline and I too am so glad I found your site. We seem to have a common thread through love of nature and writing. Your detailed description of life and nature is amazing and I love reading your every word. You are a great teacher by what you express in your writing and I look forward to reading it all. Have a beautiful day.

Brian Miller said...

darkness will come...it always does...and in those moments we should look for that light and take joy in what we are left with....hard weekend....beautiful verse...

Hilary said...

It's difficult to remember the joy when we're in that darkness. Not so true for the reverse.

Beautifully written, Pauline.

Kerry said...

As Hilary says, it is hard to see the light side of the moon when you are bathed in shadow. But it's there, and the cycle goes back to it.

Pauline said...

Marion - it's so hard to write about such huge sorrow

Thank you Tabor

I appreciate your comments, Maine, thanks.

Hilary and Kerry - I could not leave out the joy, the light even though it's so dark now that they're invisible...

Judith said...

You remind me of the lines from the Psalm:
Weeping lasts the night,
but joy comes in the morning.

Pauline said...

J - you never fail to say something that delights me

Joanna Jenkins said...

You are so good at expressing yourself, Pauline. Thank you, you said it beautifully.
xo jj

Pauline said...

Thanks, JJ.

Marc Leavitt said...

Hi Pauline:
The poem was beautiful. As so often happens, I found your blog while looking for something else, and then spent the bulk of the morning reading it and your other blog; the one for it's keen observations and apt use of language, the other for its wry good humor about our shared experiences on the interesting trip we're all taking.
Marc
at Marc Leavitt's Blog

Pauline said...

Nice to "meet" you Marc. Delighted that you were delighted! I shall have to return the favor :)