Ask me
to tell you about
the most grievous pain ever felt. There was
nothing left of me
except torment and loss.
The tears would not stop,
on and on they went,
for months and months on end. How could a heart
live with
and through such darkness?
And there was no one,
no one to tend me,
no one to understand. All thought her mad.
Melting away is serious business,
yet no one seemed to know
about the seriousness,
or the peril. With no place to go
the inward turn and
long journey home
began.
Grief is a doorway
to the unknown Mystery.
No one had told me. I am grateful to have found
this doorway to myself,
and to what lies beyond.
Grief shifts itself
with an oozing, shimmering love.
It comes out of everything. When I am quiet
and filled with awareness,
it speaks loudly.
In the loveliest of whispers
and in the sweetness of knowing
I am never alone. Thank you grief, perfect teacher,
gentle in your convulsion
and complete in your undoing.
-Kim de Beus
Exploring further:
How do you recognize grief?
Can you fully allow it to convulse you?
What names might you give grief?
What care do you offer yourself in the midst of grief?
What has grief taught you?
