it has been a somber week here in the Brown house since the the loss of our beloved family dog Legolas. i am no stranger to grief and although i knew his time was coming sooner than later, his death still broke my heart. the tears seemed endless there in the beginning but i am making sure to smile each day and share light and laughter, both for myself and for my boys.
there is no right or wrong way to deal with grief, but journaling has always helped me in the past. i have tried writing a few poems in the past few days but i wanted to share one of my older poems today, in addition to a few other poems from various writers and poets that have helped me throughout the years.
here are ten poems and quotes about grieving for whoever our there may need them.
one
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sun on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die. -Mary Elizabeth Frye, Do Not Stand at My Grave
two
To live in this world
you must be able to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it against your bones
knowing your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go. – Mary Oliver, In Blackwater Woods
three
for all the things you never got to say
and all of the memories that will never feel the same
here’s what remains
here’s what’s true
after all you lost
love will still find you.
– Morgan Harper Nichols
four
The night after you left I woke up so broken the only place to put the pieces were the bags under my eyes. – Rupi Kaur
five
don’t hide from heartbreak
for it will show you more truth
than a thousand days
live in it, soak in it
and let it evolve you
into your next and greater form.
– Atticus, The Truth About Magic
six
… when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.
– Maya Angelou When Great Trees Fall
seven
Don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened. – German poet Ludwig Jacobowsk, Leuchtende Tage
eight
Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. – Kahlil Gibran, Joy and Sorrow from The Prophet
nine
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. -Robert Frost
ten
tell the earth to stop turning,
for i can’t bare another day without him here.
tell the birds there will be no more chirping,
for their songs no longer music in my ear.
tell the sun to stop shining,
i have no use for brightness in the sky.
and you can tell the rain to stop coming.
as there are enough drops falling from within my eyes.
but if this world must go on spinning,
and a new day arrives without him here.
i’ll think of him in another place
and softly smile knowing he is there.
in a place where the sun never sets,
where the flowers are always in bloom,
where he is alive and nothing is hurting him.
forever alive among the stars and the moon.
– Priscilla T. Brown (thats me!)
xx
