Wednesday's Woe - 8th Year "Angelversary" of Merry Katherine Commemorated or "Uncle Nary"

Wednesday's Woe

8th Year "Angelversary" 

of 

Merry Katherine 

Commemorated

or

"Uncle Nary"

8/2: It was her death date

What could I say?

Words alone could not relate…

But then through my son I got the word…

My only grandchild's

words were heard…

Her mother, on the phone,

The child, my 3-year-old grandchild's

Words would atone…

Emulating her mommy, she too spoke

On her imaginary phone

to "Uncle Nary" (our grief she'd stoke... )

She told her mother, she had talked

to "Uncle Nary,"

But her mother balked…

"Who is that?!" she quickly said;

The child pointed to a picture

of Aunt Merry, 8 years now dead…

The aunt she'd never actually met

She had "talked" to...

Accompli fete *

Merry Katherine's daddy, today, to this poem aptly replied…

"2/8, the day I was born,

8/2, the day that I died…"

Yes, my child, though our hearts still moan 

As you are 8 years away from us, the heart of our Heaven-sent 3-year-old grandchild

Sends a sweet reminder to us ~that your spirit indeed 

.....does live on...

May God our great Comforter, and your great Rescuer, grant us the strength to 

.....continue on…

It gives my heart much sweet peace to know that you are safely There,

And our God, as ever, 

.....is still upon His Throne!

*" accompli, fête " - poetic-licensed version of French phrase, 

"fête accompli"  loosely translated: 

"Feat accomplished," 

or 

"Commemoration perfectly accomplished"!

Poem ~ 8th Year "Angelversary" of Merry Katherine Commemorated, or "Uncle Nary" ~ Angie Bennett Prince - 9/2014

Drawing Artwork: 

'peace'  ~Loui Jover 

via ~Saatchi Online, found on Pinterest:

~ Art  ~  Sara Lusk 
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/374713631468323632/

~~~

In writing my poem...

Before writing this 3-line stanza poem about my child, I was inspired as I read that Edward Hirsch, one of my favorite modern poets, in writing about the loss of his 22-year-old son Gabriel in 2011, 

"(h)e found an organizing principle in the model of three-line stanzas. He liked that each stanza had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Usually, the three-line stanza is 'a dialect of the underworld,' Eavan Boland pointed out to me. 'A signal that the poem is about grief.' This is mainly because it invokes terza rima, the three-line rhyming scheme of the 'Divine Comedy.' Dante’s lines rhyme aba, bcb, cdc, and so on, but Hirsch’s lines are unrhymed."

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/04/finding-words

8 Years Ago Today... Your "Heaven Day" ~ A Poem to Merry Katherine on Her 8th Year in Heaven ~ "Your Living, Loving Smile"

8 Years Ago Today...

Your "Heaven Day"

A Poem to my Baby Girl in Heaven

Today, a precious Treasured Sister-of-the-Heart sent me this enlarged picture of Merry Katherine and her beautiful smile which inspired the following poem to my baby girl about our hearts after eight years of missing her. 

Thank you to Melody Robinson Hill {{{Adam}}} for your loving "Heaven Day" gift to me; I treasure your faithful friendship and your loving heart toward this fellow grieving mother!

Your Living, Loving Smile

Eight years ago, you went from our home to His,

from our hands to His,

but what I am thankful for is this:

Though you left our home, you never left our heart:

You're here to stay, from now through all eternity,

for Love never ends!

Come what may, it flows and it bends

though the trails become weary

and the strength becomes weak,

the eyes remain teary

and our Lord we continuously seek,

the Love remains;

it is God's gift...

The heart is strained,

but Love gives it a lift,

For Love is of God

and thus Love is eternal;

Though through Grief we still trod

(God knows its depths are infernal),

our hearts are alight

when we "see" your sweet smile,

for despite our dire plight

you still walk with us each mile:

In the depths of my tears,

you sense my deep pain;

then you simply "appear"

and my pain quickly wanes,

for I know you are There

(which quells my despair)

and I sense your new peace

which quashes my pain~

I sense the release

in your soul from all strain!

Thank you for coming

each time Mommy's so sad;

it's hard to endure

when I'm feeling so bad.

But your love is sure

to bring Mommy back

from the agony of loss

to the ecstasy that you're back (!)

walking hand in hand with me

in the face of grief's attack,

ever reminding me 

you are now in a Place

that is ever full of sweet peace

as daily, our Lord, you see face to face,

enjoying constant companionship

as there's no distance There,

but an intimate relationship

like living in prayer,

where no want or need

ever crosses your mind

for His love intercedes,

and His perspective you find.

I long to be There,

but I'll walk this road,

carrying my cross

bearing Grief's load,

for I know my Lord

will walk with me here,

fighting Grief's taunts with His fiery sword,

and through each of my meltdowns,

He'll lovingly meet me, to wipe every tear,

Soothing my heart, removing each frown,

for I know He has His work He wants me to do,

and He'll provide His strength

that will surely get me through.

And then one sweet Day,

He'll bring me Home too

when I'll hear my Lord tenderly say,

"Your baby's Here waiting for you!"

Until then, thank you sweet baby

for walking with me

and smiling so radiantly

until finally that Day when together we'll be!

Mommy loves you,

Daddy does too,

Rollin and Nathan are missing you too.

(What a wonderful reunion we will enjoy

when God opens up Heaven and restores all our Joy!)

Meanwhile God's love, and our love for each other will see us through,

While loving other parents whose angels are There today, playing with you, 

awaiting their Great Reunion with their loved ones too!

So up through the Heavens I'm blowing this kiss,

reminding you till Then, your presence we'll miss.

Thank you again for walking with me through each mile,

Loving your mommy by revealing your living, loving smile!

Poem - Your Living, Loving Smile - Angie Bennett Prince - August 2, 2014

Jesus said to her, 

"I am the resurrection and the life. 

He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; 

and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die."

John 11:25-26

Blessed Mother's Day - My Note to My Child on Mother's Day: The Gift Within the Grief or One Death on Earth… One Million Heart-Strings to Heaven

A mother only grieves because she loves so deeply.

~Carly M. Dudley

Blessed Mother's Day

My Note to My Child on Mother's Day:

The Gift Within the Grief

or

One Death on Earth…

One Million Heart-Strings to Heaven

One death on earth yields

One million heart-strings straight to Heaven,

Seemingly pulled and tormented daily,

Missing you these years past ~ seven

now, and counting. Wrapped you are

around my heart, feeling each beat beating

even as you go about your Heavenly tasks,

even as I feel you tugging each step of your way 

on the heartstrings within which our love basks.

Bearing this grief seems somehow a gift

as it connects me this closely with you,

going deeper in my heart that I ever thought

it could go, ever reminding me of our

equally deep love, so that it gives my heart a lift!

(How can I reject bearing 

this cross when it bears you as well,

knowing I had the privilege of loving you

here those nineteen years, and loving you

seven more now from here to There?)

My mothering continues on, in Spirit 

now, not flesh…! So painful, yet, a blessing,

still getting to love you, and that deeply tender 

heart (that cried harder than any of ours each

time we lost an animal while you were here… )

What a gift, what a blessing, to know 

such a love as ours, that keeps on going on,

even growing deeper and deeper, 

(if that is even possible!).

I cry for you so deeply with these mother's tears

that never cease to run dry despite all these years.

What a marvelous love is that, from one soul

touching another?! 

It can only lead one to the Creator's 

heart, what deep deep Love He had for us

that He gave us this love, one for the other. 

(Some people around can't understand what

continues to make me cry; perhaps I should grieve

for them too if they have not such a love as you and I.)

Though grief feels like a curse that keeps me broken 

down, it rends my heart toward Heaven, ever keeping

me on Sacred Ground! Even He, our LORD, was

One well acquainted with Grief, grief  so important in His

Kingdom that even He was not spared that deepest pain 

that can only look to our Heavenly Father for sweet relief. 

So important are our tears to Him, He even 

stores them up in bottles! (Whatever will He do 

with them, these oceans of tears we cry?) He even 

designed in them , now we are told, key ingredients

that soothe our hearts and bring us immediate relief!

It is so like Him to take our cross, and use it to bless us

with deeper blessings than we can see, like cherishing a 

love that lasts through the years, growing deeper every 

year, making our hearts more tender, drawing our hearts 

closer to His! 

He comforts us that all creation groans; it is not only we

mothers who long for our children too soon taken away, 

and yet we get the Greater Grief, for love such as ours will not 

affect us gently; it renders us down upon the ground, gasping 

for breath through each tear. Oh what a vast and bottomless 

love that demands such grieving rounds! 

So my child, I am beautifully blessed this Mother's Day 

to have my heart strung out across a town and two 

states loving your brothers here, and my heart 

strung out all the way to Heaven, loving you

through every tear! 

Thank you for blessing my Mother's Day

with reminders of your love, for visiting me in a dream this week, 

surprising me too with chuckles each day when I see things

I know are from you, a laugh we can share that only your 

unique sense of humor could have sent my way, and so many

other sweet touches that bless my heart each day. 

Hold Mommy close in your heart and prayers, knowing how 

much I long for you, and hold me especially close this 

Mother's Day as I still reel from my short "visit" with you in that dream; 

it brings hefty sobs each time I remember it (for I was sitting next to you!). 

Continue to pull on these million heart strings; 

I feel your loving touch with every one, and 

somehow I'll be able to smile through every tear...

Thank you for your deep, deep love you've poured out for me today 

and every day, and thank our LORD for giving me a precious 

daughter that so lovingly affects me that way. 

Give Mother/GrandMommy my love and a "Happy Mother's Day!"

 through a big hug and a kiss from me. (She's cried with me, too,

 celebrating your love, and loves and guides me each day!)

I love you and miss you and long to be with you, but I thank you 

that you ever remind me I'm just a heart-string and a prayer away…!

Poem - The Gift Within the Grief or One Death on Earth… One Million Heart-Strings to Heaven ~Angie Bennett Prince - May 8, 2014

~~~

Wishing all mothers who have a child in Heaven a 

~Peaceful Mother's Day~

~~~

You don't 'Stop being a Mother,'

When a child passes away…

Now you nurture 'Spirit,'

As you go from day to day…

Never will you forget them,

Your bodies were once one…

they will live within your soul,

And are never really gone…

The Heaven's know your sorrow,

And every tear that you have cried…

They too have 'mourned a loss,'

When someone they loved died…

Have 'Faith' in your Heavenly Father,

And in Jesus Christ His Son…

He was 'Our Living Example,'

And Death we'll overcome...

~Poem ©Mary G. ~ Love for All

Top graphic, thanks to
Carly M. Dudley, grieving mother
http://123parades.com/grieving-mothers-grieving-mothers-in-the-2014/

Middle two graphics, thanks to
~Grieving Mothers

Final graphic, thanks to
grieving mother, Ramona Kryski
http://www.pinterest.com/ramonakryski/grieving-mothers/

Tuesday's Trust - An Easter Letter to My Daughter in Heaven

Tuesday's Trust

An Easter Letter to My Daughter in Heaven

Who are you today,

And what do you do?

How do you spend your day?

When we're sad, how do you get through?

How is it to live without sin,

No bad habits, no temptations

To cause you war within,

No irritations, no aggravations

To sap your soul and worry you,

Just happy times and meeting friends,

Sweet times with God to get you through,

Just your pure sweet spirit God ever tends

And loving Him back, the best of Friends?!

Baby girl, I miss you so,

But it does help Mommy's heart to know

You are happy, in the sweetest care

Surrounded by loved ones who are There;

Face to Face with your Savior

His sweet fragrance for you ever to savor,

Hand in Hand with the Living Lord

Who died to kill Death, your sweet reward;

Kneeling before the Almighty God Your Lord

Crying tears of happiness that He conquered Death's sword,

Continually amazed at His amazing grace,

And being held so close to Him, You ever see His face!

You ever commune with His Sweet Spirit,

His still, small voice so close, you can always hear it

As He reminds you who you were, and who you are today,

Reminding how He got you through, and always heard you pray.

I imagine you cry many tears every day

Just like your mommy, when we each pray,

And yet yours are steeped in happiness

For you know the end of the story is faithful to God's tenderness.

Pray for us that through our tears, we'll keep our eyes on our Lord

For He promises all the bitter pain we now bear cannot compare to His magnanimous reward,

Which includes that we'll get to see you

And bask in His glorious love that paid it all for us to make it through!

Happy Easter little one!

Give my deepest love to God the Father, His Sweet Spirit, and His Precious, Loving Son.

Hold me close in heart as I do you

For it's Love that is shared that gets me through...

Picture, thanks to grieving mother, D.T. for sharing

Poem - An Easter Letter to My Daughter in Heaven - Angie Bennett Prince - 4/2/2012

Tuesday's Trust - A Grieving Mother's "Day Off"

Tuesday's Trust

A Grieving Mother's "Day Off"

It's a day off ~ you'd think I'd have no cares.

I go to sleep ~ awaken to nightmares...

You needed help ~ there was no help I'd find;

I saw the one ~ who'd always helped... was blind.

Is this my life ~ suspended in mid-air?

What is my crime? For you, I'll always care.

A mommy's love ~ should soothe your hurts away.

But when I look ~ I see you've gone away.

Your heart's at rest ~ may that sink in, I pray.

My God knows best ~ He holds you close today.

Your mommy tried ~ she couldn't reach your heart.

And now you've died ~ and now we are apart.

I guess you know ~ you're always in my heart.

I'll see you soon ~ Would someone tell my heart?

Picture, thanks to FotoSearch