Poetry
This section references poems which contributors to this web site have found comforting or inspirational in difficult times.
“We hold invisible hands with those
who have gone down in history
We cannot let go
They are holding us”
An except from:
The Sky’s Window, Martin Wroe
Web: www.lulu.com/content/370632
“The Sky’s Window is a new collection of readings from the London-based writer/poet Martin Wroe. Finding the mysterious in the mundane, the sacramental in the seemingly ordinary, these 'lines and lyrics in search of a numinous now' offer a fresh perspective on life - from first beginnings to final endings”.
Sorrow, Claribel Alegria, Curbstone Press, Canada
Web: www.curbstone.org/
“In sorrow, Claribel Alegria plumbs the depths of grief and wrests hope from pain and memory in lyrics written as love letters to her deceased husband”.
Tugs in the Fog, Joan Margarit, Bloodaxe Books Ltd. UK
Web: www.bloodaxebooks.com
“Margarit’s poetry confronts the worst that life can throw at us, yet what lingers in the mind is its warmth and humanity. In these poems he reminds us that it is not death we have to understand but life”.
Morning Birds
It’s hard to put my thoughts to words
For words could not portray
The admiration and gratitude I hold
For You and Yours today
Your act of pure selflessness
Has erased from my mind
The constant fear of searching
Only to never find.
A gift of life stands well apart
From any we may receive
But giving life has unimaginable rewards
When given in your grief.
My second chance, I pray will be
A journey, fair and true.
For your gift enables me to do
So much I thought I’d never do
And also now, direction lives
Within my heart and mind
To be half, in life, the person you were
Leaving this world behind.
You’ve given me your Morning Birds
They’ll sing only for you
And when your moon at night appears
It’s then I’ll talk to you
In summer when I stroll the shore
With my love by my side
A stone I’ll throw, to the ocean waves
And think of you with pride.
Thank you, so very much.
Please do not waste my body in the ground
while others die for what I'd freely give
nor feed me to the fire without a sound
Use my spare parts that other hearts may live
Enfold the burned within my healing skin
Rebuild the lame with bone. Make sinews strong
If I must die, let their new lives begin
Give quality of life for which they long
Take both my eyes. A son may see the stars
and let a mother look upon her child
We have known love. A summer life was ours
when barefoot through the meadows we ran wild
My life was sweet. How fast the hours went
Do this for me and I shall rest content.
Sue Cansdale from her book of poetry, Hope Sparkles. "To My next of Kin" was written by Sue about her daughter, Zoe, who became a donor following her death in a motorbike accident.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
/ www.legacyoflife.org.uk
A Gift of Life
A time to laugh, a time to cry
A time to meet, a time for goodbye,
A time for joy, a time for sorrow
A gift of life, another tomorrow..
A memorable day, even one to forget,
When heaven’s gates opened, the angels he met,
A life cut short but yet fulfilled
Inspiring us all through the actions he willed.
A time for strength, a time for healing
Of body and mind, the emotions we’re feeling,
A time for courage, a time for compassion,
For love and support in unselfish fashion.
A time for a song, to sail the ocean,
With strangeboat crew, their undivided devotion,
A time for others, lending their hand,
Steering the ship, again to dry land.
A time for contemplation of life unfolding
Those precious moments all of which were golden,
The clock does not turn, but moves ahead,
To face each day with life’s delicate thread.
A time to share, a time to smile
To offer advice on a project worthwhile,
A gift of life is priceless and sweet
Given by angels who once walked our street.
Deirdre McSherry (musician) following the launch of Strange Boat (unpublished)
Death is but a transition,
the mystics say.
Suffering makes us strong
and sets the spirit free,
the sages say.
Time heals all wounds
helping us grow
day by day.
But without you by my shoulder
guiding me,
all the time and wisdom
in the world
wouldn’t take the pain away.
Sarah Jane
(unpublished)
