HELPING THROUGH THE GRIEF - Page 26
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal."
Thomas Moore
December 15, 2003
BECAUSE OF YOU
Because of You I cried today,
Because of You I prayed.
Because of You I cursed my God;
Because He took you away.
Yet I know in fact it wasn't Him,
That let you suffer so.
A God of love and a perfect world,
Would have never let you go.
But Nature is cruel with a streak of mean,
That knows no bounds of age.
She takes the good as well as the bad,
In peace and in fits of rage.
I've seen Her destroy a thousand lives,
With a single swipe of Her glove.
I've watched Her take the only man,
That my Mother had ever loved.
But God is blameless;
He can't listen to some, ignoring the plea of others.
How could He act on all of our prayers,
Not thinking of His own Blessed Mother.
We've leaned too heavily on spiritual beliefs;
Our thinking must take a new course.
Luck of the draw, right place wrong time,
We are subject to Natural force.
So pray if you must and hope if you will,
But those who surround us are it.
Given to us through fortune and fate,
This may be all that we get.
Because of You my children were held,
And spoke of how much I loved them.
Because of You I kissed my wife,
Knowing my vows were solemn.
Because of You I'll take each day,
Make the most of what it can be.
Because of You I'll try to discover,
The goodness in those nearest me.
Because of You I cried today,
For all of those who have gone.
For all the things I never did say,
I pray that we meet beyond.
Copyright © 2003 Thomas R. Fonio
This poem was written when Eric,a young man who grew up with my daughters, died a year ago this month of cancer at the age of 17. Eric was an outstanding kid with a bright life to look forward to. The poem was my way of reconciling with just how unfair life is.
December 15, 2003
"The more you think of those who once were present, but now gone, the more they are with you in the future..."
Copyright © 2003 Huong Nguyen
I cry because no one cares.
I cry because backs are turned on me.
I cry for I'm left speaking to myself.
I cry because pain is endured on me constantly.
I cry and know it gets me nowhere.
Yet, I continue and make stops in between,
For the world don't stop to turn, even if I start to cry...
It keeps moving, so I keep moving;
My only reason not to cry
Copyright © 2003 Huong Nguyen
December 15, 2003
It was Friday May 16th of our 8th grade year. The school bell rang and our halls were filled with students. I got my stuff and went to my friends locker. A group of us all were going to the movies later, after school. On our way to the movies, in the middle of our laughter, we noticed an accident. Our laughing turned to silence.
Where the accident had taken place was right out side of two of our friends, Brian and Doug. We all told each other how when we got to the movies we would call Doug to find out what happened. We arrived at the movies and a guy we were meeting there told us a car had hit Doug.
A lump soon grew in my throat, a tear formed. Everyone was speechless. When I got home from the movies I got online right away to ask my friends if they knew anything. I got news that it wasn't good. I heard a couple different stories, but all leading to Doug beingin very bad condition.
One of my friends called and said we were all meeting at someone's house. My mom drove me there and I found all my friends there crying and the parents looking concerned. I made my way to the back of the room with some of my closer friends, and we started talking.
In the middle of my best friend saying, "Doug's too strong for anything to happen," two moms walked in and said these exact words, "We're sorry, but Doug didn't make it".
The room was filled with screams and tears flowing from our eyes. My heart had stopped and I fell to the floor. This news was unbearable. Everyone there cried for at least two hours. At midnight we all went outside with our tears slowing, and said some prayers.
That next Saturday, the gym to our school was opened and we all met there to grieve together. It was very hard to see Doug's locker with flowers and poems all over it. Posters on the walls saying, "Rest in peace".
The day was filled with hugging, crying, listening and comforting. Before everyone left, we signed balloons and let them go. I walked away from that parking lot knowing that I would never see Doug again, knowing I've never felt so hurt, knowing it will take timeto get through this and knowing I'll never forget him.
Doug is still remembered for his outgoing personality, his ever so bright smile and his loving heart. We all miss you Doug, and the Class of 2007 will never forget.
Copyright © 2003 Molly Clark
December 15, 2003
"I've kept it a secret too long; I'm letting everyone know. I don't care if it hurts you, it will only make me feel better. I never thought of it as abuse, until now. I'm not stupid; I knew what you were doing. Trying to hide it from me, but it always ended up fired at me. You always had your excuses, and you always had a lie. Too bad they didn't work, I could see right through you and the bottle of liquor. You hated me; you hated me because I had a reason to hate you."
Sent in by E.M., Age 14 --- Virginia
My father was- still is a bad alcoholic. He was always angry, and yelling at my brothers and me. One of my brothers ended up in a drug rehab, and the other isn't doing so well. I'm lucky I didn't start those things, considering how much I had and still have bottled up inside. Writing down my feelings was a great replacement for not expressing my feelings to people.