Blog - Loss And Bereavement Poetry: Weep For A While

Posted: Wednesday, 29th July 2009

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The poem about loss and bereavement that follows came to me within an hour. I am not a poet! From time to time, however, rhyming verses appear in my mind with such lightening speed that I can barely get them down in time. This is what happened here. The entire first verse – which is about coping with grief – occurred to me instantly. As the result of a Tweet!

In reality, the words of comfort had probably been fomenting for more than a day, partly because this week was the anniversary of my daughter's death, and partly because yesterday I was commenting on the social networking site Informed Ideas For Writers – a LinkedIn group – about the pain and sorrow which seem to plague some people, interminably. Not, you understand, that I am condemning anyone. Grief and bereavement are not time-definitive: they last as long as they last.

But there is a sense in which we may not wish to let go. A sense in which each of us may contrive to envelop ourselves in our grief, in the way that a child hugs a comfort blanket to itself. And it’s not always healthy to do so!

I have written other poetry for bereavement but here I want to make a distinction. These verses are not intended to be exclusively for those who are left to mourn a death, but are meant to be comfort poetry for anyone suffering loss of any sort: be it job, marriage, home or financial security. My hope is that the pain and sorrow to which you have fallen victim will be healed in these words of comfort.

This is a work in progress. If you have suggestions to make to improve the verse, please let me know in the comment box below.

Comfort Poetry: Weep A While

Weep a while for what might have been

Let grief rest, but not nest, in your heart.

Then smile a while for all that went well,

And tell sorrow it’s time to depart.

For tears and grief, like a rising flood,

Will bear all that is past in their path.

Til their task is done and the rising sun

Brings new light in the night’s aftermath.

For from the ark, when dispelled is the dark,

Will appear, like a mountain, a peak.

So let sorrow take flight, like a dove on the wing,

To return with fresh hope in its beak.

Then look to the heavens for what’s yet to come

And trust that what’s gone is redeemed.

For the ark and the peak and the dove that is God

Offer more than you ever have dreamed.

DEALING WITH LOSS AND GRIEF

Thank you for reading this far. I hope you've found it helpful. If you've come to my website because you’re dealing with the loss of a loved one, and the struggle is overwhelming, do take a look at other related articles by clicking on the following links.

Dealing with the death of a loved one
The initial shock of losing someone you love: How to cope
Dealing with denial, grief and anger following bereavement
Making funeral arrangements
Do grief and loss conform to a pattern?
Poetry for grief: In the silence of friends
Bereavement poetry: Crossing the bar, by Alfred Lord Tennyson

If you would like to get in touch, privately, e-mail me at author@melmenzies.co.uk and I promise I’ll send you a personal reply.

© Copyright: Mel Menzies, July 2009

The author of eight books, one a Sunday Times No. 4 Bestseller,
Mel is also an experienced Speaker
and has addressed live audiences of between 20 and 700+
in addition to participating in TV and Radio chat shows.
Her books may be purchased online at www.melmenzies.co.uk, amazon, or booklocker
ALL PROFITS FROM book sales are for charities benefiting children like this overseas or this in UK in honour of my daughter and her fight for life.

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