Release

Pink and blue globes
Released with full hearts
Ascending slowly at first
Into the pure blue sky
Ribbon tails fluttering behind
Lifting our grief
As they float ever higher
They begin to race
And bump together joyously
Like children playing
A lightness envelopes
Peace alights
Upon us

Love is:

Love is:
the privilege
to carry the seed of life
for 38 weeks
imagining his face
feeling his movements
his hiccups
his kicks
hearing his heartbeat
seeing evidence of his growth
in the expansion of
your middle
Love is:
the excitement
of preparing his place
his crib
his blanket
his clothes
Love is:
the anticipation
of his arrival
his introduction
to his brothers
and sister
Love is:
bestowing him
with Papa's name
to carry his memory
Love is:
the pain
of laying to rest
that child
that arrived without breath
Love is:
the strength
to go on
to live past
the empty space
he left behind
Love is:
the loving arms
and prayers
and thoughts
of friends
and loved ones
who hold you up

Spring Planting

Seeds light as dust

Lifted on a whisper of wind

Carried like chaff

Worth more than gold

Heavy with promise
of Hummingbird visits
Riotous wildflowers
Teased from the soil
Lifted with sunshine
Happy surprise

Unbidden Grief

Unexpected Grief descends upon us
In the absence of a hearbeat
It clouds our days in automatic movements.
Unrelenting Grief lies heavy on the

continuously beating hearts
of those of us trying to survive the Pain of it
Tears sneak into our conversations
and spill out at inopportune times
when our hearts begin to thaw-
trying to recover from the unforgettable
Renting our hearts to tatters again
with the unbidden images
of a tiny grave
ringed with flowers, family, friends
sobbing for all that is lost
with that Precious, tiny Life

Lost and Found Memory

A leftover red tube sock
found at the bottom
of the laundry hamper
Smells of sadness
and anger
of things said
and left unsaid
Lost without its match
Or chance of
reconciliation

Sleep

Laying down these bones
to sleep
Seeking warmth beneath
flannel sheets
A groan escapes
the aches and pains
At day's end
awaiting sleep
Morning wakes
with faithful light
Rise and stretch
fill the day
Then meet the night

Forgotten

A leaning, sinking headstone
Standing four foot tall
Old and weather beaten
No name left at all
No one left to tend it
No one left to care
No one to remember
Who was buried there