PERCEPTIONS

How does one perceive death?
Can you bear to have a love one taken
as the harvest of the Grim Reaper?
Hurt, anger, and loneliness ensue.
You must understand that life goes on,
not by living in the past,
time standing still,
but with a new beginning.

It is hard to relinquish their presence;
you feel an absence,
yet memories still remain.
Eventually the hurt goes away,
for a little while at least.
Then like some immortal wound
You lose yourself in sorrow
tears gushing forth once more.

Your anger directed at God,
fellow men, and even the deceased.
You never fully understand
why your life had to be shattered.
Fitting like a jigsaw puzzle
with pieces missing;
the picture incomplete.

If you allow it,
the loneliness can be worst of all.
You isolate yourself from others
when you should look to your friends.
The emptiness can be filled,
not by replacing our former love,
but by making room for others.

One must perceive death
through reality.
As streaming tears subdue
you must reach out and grasp life.
The harvest season is only a small part,
maybe sad, but you can endure.
Hold on to your existence
and plant new seeds. 

1991

Reflection Index