Tuesday's Trust - Never Letting Go...

Tuesday's Trust

Never Letting Go...

These were helpful readings as I read today from our Knoxville Compassionate Friends newsletter sent to us this month:

What I Need

A lot of time!

A little space,

A kind of quiet

Resting place,

Are what I need

At times like these

A special spot

Where I can

Grieve.

~Beth Pinion, TCF/Andalusia, AL

***

An important way to cope with grief

is having an outlet, be it interpersonal, be it artistic,

that will allow you to not have to contain your grief,

but will give you an opportunity to express it,

to externalize it to some degree. ~

~R, Benyamin Cirlin,

Grief Counselor

***

Comes the Dawn

After awhile you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't mean security, and you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts, and presents aren't promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the strength of an adult, not the grief of a child, and learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans, and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure ...

that you are really strong

and you really do have worth.

And you learn and learn ...

with every goodbye you learn.

~Dani Rohr

TCF/Ventura, CA

*****

After reading "Comes the Dawn," I wrote the following poem:

Never Letting Go...

Holding a hand, you never want to let go,

But bodies die, and they must go.

But what I have learned with my child's death

Is that Life doesn't end with her last breath...

Though she had to leave, and my heart has a hole,

She comes back, for there's still Life in her soul!

And to my Baby Girl, I say...

Though I held your hand, there were no guarantees,

And though I held you near, I couldn't chain your soul,

Though I kissed you and said, "I don't want you to go!"

Kisses aren't contracts, so I had to let go...

And though your life was taken two days later,

God didn't lose~He didn't let your soul die!

So you still come by

every now and then to visit me

And then I hear you say so familiarly...

"Don't worry Mommy...Always and forever, I'll see ya later, Alligator!"

So I choke back my tears and say,

"After awhile Crocodile..."

And then my heart warms as I see you smile.

~Poem - Never Letting Go... - Angie Bennett Prince, 8/23/10

Knoxville Chapter Compassionate Friends Newsletter, excerpts from August, 2010 edition

Poem - Never Letting Go - Angie Bennett Prince - 8/23/10