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Michael Shepherd (8.4.1929 / Marton, Lancashire)
! A grief ago
'There is no grief
which time does not lessen
or soften' -
so said Cicero, a man so often right;
a Stoic, those for whom
all life presents a lesson
to be learned from,
and then, to move on from..
But I wonder about all this:
is grief ever lessened or softened?
Is it not, perhaps, overlaid
in our so various ways?
For some, grief framed and falsified
to ease that grief;
For some, like hyacinths and crocus bulbs,
left in a dark cupboard in the autumn of our grief
to respond to time, and
become at last
themselves?
gently, gently, the covers pulled
over the loving bed,
the true, the pure, the lovely painful grief,
the memory deep cherished,
gently, gently, folded
into the cupboards of the heart
there to be known, without the door disturbed
until the time - 'a grief ago' as Dylan wrote -
the cupboard opened only for love's sake
without grief...:
those carefully folded memories
brought out and loved
and lived a while...
not grief, not grief...but
the pure memory of grief
and behold,
life.
Read poems about / on: grief, memory, autumn, dark, time, life
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Very nice mr micheal....a grief ago...kudos, u r very good...
Please i will luv for you to read a few of my poems...esp do not despair at the death of the light....
And leave a comment/criticism too i will appreciate it...thanks for sharing
we are born grieving, and find our very meaning there... great poem!
Like the poem. Have a look at child in your arms.
I wrote it for my sister.
Best wishes
Dave
Never say ' I grieved once', truly the memory of grief will resurrect the feel of it once again. Almost as lasting as the reference E.lizabeth Barret-Browning made to never saying 'I loved once'. There is an eternity surrounding the both.The emotion is captured in your piece most fervently. Fay.
I'll remember both the image of the bulbs and the thought.
I'm another person who liked the part about 'the bulbs... becoming at last themselves', both as poetry and as a thought to muse on. Thanks.
Wow. This is really great. A departure from your earlier work from years ago, and I love it very much. The literary references are the cherry on top. Great to read you again - love, Sandra
I love the imagery, particularly in the 5th stanza. It spoke to my own recent loss. Thank you.
Michael this is an excellent poem, very well said. Thankyou--Melvina---
The poem entire speaks volumes but the fifth stanza is mine. Thank you so much for this graceful, grace-ful write...