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Showing posts with the label poetry

Writing | Poem

Recently I have been remembering a poem I wrote, upon losing my mother to cancer in 2020. Our story is a unique one.  Our mom has two daughters, who both adored her very much, and were both living on the other side of a closed border during the pandemic. My sister and I refer to our grief as "complicated."  Without the chance to help our parents, being barred from that one last hug or the chance to say our goodbyes, the process has come in fits and starts, and has taken a lot longer to move through the healthy stages of grief.   During one such swell of awareness, the pain of losing her was nearly overwhelming. So I wrote. Some people drink, I suppose, but I write. I pray, I cry, I remember, and I write. Though it hurts, I would do nothing to deaden the pain -- for it cries aloud, telling of my love for the woman who gave me life, and who nurtured me through every stage from birth to marriage to motherhood to ministry and beyond.  Until one day she couldn't. She...

Gratitude | Part 1

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I am thankful For the sunshine of summer to warm the land And the way it feels against my skin For the happy faces of flowers   That greet me And remind me there is always hope I am grateful For the gentle strength of loving hearts And perfect matches that warm the soul For the sweet, surprise visits For the plans I never thought of And for the One who knew them all along I am beholden For the trials of fire that end up refining And the way Your hand guides every bit of my life For comfort in times of sadness For the strength to stay the course And for the molding and strength You never cease to bring I am amazed For the might and the majesty You show us And for the striking beauty and power of it all For the mist of roaring waters For sunsets and starlight as the days end And for giving me hope    again, and again, and again. R.Ellen July 11, 2025