Sunday 16 May 2021

This too will pass...right?

 

How quickly the day passes, even without you,

away from your presence, like an exile alone

the weight of memory’s the weight of your bones

as light as a flake of ash, as easily blown

off with the lightest of puffs. Outside, the curfew

is a beast poised to spring. The hours are a dark spell.

The phone won’t stop ringing. I tell them, I’m well.

 

This too will pass, right? How quickly the day passes!

You’re memory of memory - your teacup was still there

unwashed with the dregs. The comb with your tangled hair.

Life’s just a banyan with its roots probing the air.

That morning you drank tea. Nightfall, you were ashes.

They ask how? and why? how will I be? what will I do?

I tell them it’s okay. That I’ll cope. Without you.  






14 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    Of course you will cope - in your own way, in your own time... YAM xx

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  2. Cope is such a powerful emotive word. Hanging in. Just. Doing (with a struggle) all that needs to be done.
    Of course you are coping, but I am hoping that joy and beauty return.

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    Replies
    1. There's some sort of spare beauty in acceptance. Though I'm finding it hard to locate any beauty or joy in the present situation. Hopefully, next year will be better.

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  3. it passes and yet lingers always - in memories, poems, a light breeze. And that's okay

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    1. Always okay. The lingering is a blessing too.

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  4. Replies
    1. Indeed, and it ends without any preparation sometimes. Too abrupt.

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  5. Yes to ending with no warning. Sometimes, though, the warning itself is as shocking as an abrupt end. All so hard and decades later I am still sometimes brought to tears by a piece of music, a photograph, a memory.

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    Replies
    1. Very tough. Too much trauma for one lifetime. Hugs.

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  6. Dear Nila - life does go on ... and in these days it can be stopped with a shudder ... no time at the time to be there properly ... then the memories - they will be there, they will morph as we adjust in the times afterwards. Today is just a cruel time ...just desperate without the warning. I feel for many at this time ... take care and with thoughts - Hilary

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    Replies
    1. Yes it is turning out to be horrible year for far too many people. You take care and be well.

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  7. I recently read "Living with Loss" by Cortez Ranieri. In the book she states that a person must take care of themselves, knowing that grief is completely natural and needed as a step in the healing process of loss. Also, there is no set time limit for mourning, the outward expression of grief. Nila, I wish you continued activity in projects that bring you happiness.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Gail. Self care is very important but is most often overlooked during the process of grieving. In the pandemic what with the isolation and all, there are no friends and family around either to take care of mourners. Really bleak times.

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