HELPING THROUGH THE GRIEF - Page 22
"Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality. Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude."
Joseph Ratzinger
August 18, 2003
John and I used to tell everyone that we were going to get married. He was one of my favorite people in the world. During my senior year in high school he died after sustaining a head injury on the football field. He was only 16. Since then, I have spent endless hours trying to understand how his life could have been taken from him at such a young age. It's been 2 years, but it never seems to get any easier...
A dreary day, under the umbrella of a gray sky.
Frigid breeze; cold, wet concrete.
Dark colored coats, lined up to get inside.
It shouldn't be like this: not today.
Nervous quiet, crying babies; flowers like a rainbow.
Picture boards covered in memories; guitar, wrestling shoes, trophies.
A giant hand made card;
We'll love you forever.
The click-click of women's shoes
Across the hard gym floor.
Searching for an open seat amongst row after row of black.
A fleeting moment of distraction.
So many stories, memories; spread through the microphone.
Bittersweet laughter, a smile, a tear.
The melody of his favorite song, floating over the sea of faces.
Conciliatory interlude ... a pause from reality.
A small, brown-haired boy lies sleeping in my lap
Tear-streaked faces surround me.
A picture show, a flash of his life, only half seen through cloudy vision.
Lacking the strength to leave, unwilling to say good-bye,
I feel trapped within the gym.
The day is all wrong.
The swelling in my throat, threatening to choke me.
The soft white tissue in my hand, now crumpled and moist.
To be anywhere but here ...
Copyright © 2001 S.B. Kincaid
August 18, 2003
Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I'll remember you. If you can only remember me with tears, then don't remember me at all.
Author Unknown
August 18, 2003
God will never take something away, without putting something better in its place.
Author Unknown
Submitted by K.O. --- Michigan
August 18, 2003
I wrote this for a friend who lost a very dear friend of their own.
FADED PETALS
Through many years our bonds did grow,
In friendship's garden where I trace;
Each memory that we shared in life..
And once again I see your face.
If friends were flowers you have been
Growing strong beside me there.
I know that I have been in yours.
We tended each with loving care.
Our flowers bloomed as life moved on;
Becoming very closely bound.
I saw you. Was it yesterday?
Your laughter? I still hear the sound.
Such memories we shared dear friend,
In a garden filled with love.
We carefully tended what God made,
Because He blessed it from above.
Your earthly petals have now faded.
They now began to fall apart.
I quickly gathered them all up,
And pressed them closely in my heart.
Now I shall stand and count the hours,
As my petals too will someday fade...
And when we meet in Heavens Garden,
We'll be the colors we were made..
Copyright © 2003 Carol Bouche' Ottlinger
August 18, 2003
In our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart; and in our despair, against our will, comes wisdom, through the awful grace of God.
Robert F. Kennedy
Submitted by Sam Arif --- Kansas, United States
August 18, 2003
With the death of every friend I love... a part of me has been buried... but theircontribution to my being of happiness, strength, and understanding remains tosustain me in my altered world.
Helen Keller