Poetry A - L > Flowers, Gwen
Poem by Gwen Flowers
Artwork by Hawk Jones
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Grief
by Gwen Flowers
I had my own notion of grief.
I thought it was the sad time
That followed the death of someone you love.
And you had to push through it
To get to the other side.
But I'm learning there is no other side.
There is no pushing through.
But rather,
There is absorption.
Adjustment.
Acceptance.
And grief is not something you complete,
But rather, you endure.
Grief is not a task to finish
And move on,
But an element of yourself-
An alteration of your being.
A new way of seeing.
A new definition of self.
Sifting Through
the Sand
By Gwen Flowers
I sit among the scattered shells,
A shovel in my hand;
But use my fingers, gently curled,
For sifting through the sand.
I'm looking for something I've lost,
But don't expect to find.
The sand is something tangible,
But I'm sifting through my mind.
It's cluttered now with memories
And dreams that wouldn't die,
Like seagrass sometimes hides sandspurs
That make the tender cry.
Like broken glass or other trash,
Are bitterness and fear.
But buried deep within it all
Are treasures I hold dear.
So, deeper still, I plunge my hand
And probe the tenderregions
Of an angry, broken heart
That knows so many seasons.
Somewhere in there are treasures
I still hope to find.
Buried in this broken heart
or in this troubled mind.
Somewhere is peace, and laughter.
A way to understand.
New hope, a kind of healing.
Somewhere. In the sand.
Walk With Me
By Gwen Flowers
Come, walk with me, my friend,
I'll hold your hand.
This journey is not one to understand.
There is no sorting out
Chaff from the wheat.
We have to take the bitter with the sweet.
Come, walk with me,
Along the trail of tears.
We'll share our heartbreak, and our hopes and fears.
This trail is not designed
To walk alone.
But we will make discoveries of our own.
Come, walk with me, my friend,
We'll share the load
Up every hill and down the rugged road.
No map to show the route
Or tell how far.
No compass points the way, or guiding star.
Come, walk with me,
And I will walk with you.
Perhaps we two will find a better view.
Perhaps the trail,
Though thorny on the feet,
Wll widen for two sorrowed hearts to meet.
Come, walk with me
Through brambled vine and thorn.
Step over stones that leave hearts ripped and torn.
The walk is never easy,
That is true.
But you will walk with me, and I with you.
Dear Dakota
By
Gwen Flowers
Written for Dakota Jones'
2nd birth & death day
March 11, 2001
Dear Dakota, I wish I had known you.
Today's your birthday, and the day you died.
Your life, though much too short, has touched so many.
As many as the tears your mother's cried.
Her words reach out to me across the country.
A continent away, she holds my hand.
Her loving thoughts of you are read by many
Whose broken hearts can also understand.
You were a blazing star across the heavens.
A flash across the sky that burned so bright!
The glow you left behind still keeps on shining.
A brightness even in the darkest night.
You're loved and you're remembered, sweet Dakota.
Your life has made an impact on us all.
A truth that breaks our hearts and leaves us grieving
Even the brightest stars must sometimes fall.
I light a candle now for sweet Dakota.
And as flame touches wick, I say your name.
The world is darker, smaller, in your absence,
But still a better place, because you came.
About the Author
For more about Gwen and to read more of her wonderful poetry, please see:
www.geocities.com/gwenflowers
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