Last spring I noticed a very small plant that
Had been a volunteer from last year. It had
Come up through a tiny crack on the patio
Cement. I didn’t think much about it and
Just watered it along with the other plants.
And then it began to grow and today it has
Blossomed into a very beautiful plant.
It made me think of the hope we have, though
Our lives have sprung through the cracks and
Crevices of our life experiences
Our seed laying dormant in the confined soil
Dependent upon our restricted environment
Unaware of our significance
Dependent upon a Source to nurture
And sustain us.
****
There is a tradition in biblical times
When those who suffered a loss
Of a loved one, weepers were hired to
Grieve with tears collected in bottles
****
When we suffer a loss, whether a loved
One or perhaps the trials we bear
Our sufferings are never wasted
Our tears are
Stored in God’s bottles and
He knows just when we need the
Sprinkling to moisten our loss
That we may grow stronger, our
Roots deeper, experiencing deliverance
And freedom from our confinement
To this earth’s worldly existence!
****
A short poem of different
Traditions in the loss of
Others –
Mourners are called to weep
Lifting up their cries
Preparing for a burial
As the custom was when
Someone dies
She was just a child
Suddenly becoming ill
All that they had done
Had not made her well
Washing her body with
Sweet scents,
Painting her cheeks
Darkening her eyes
Placing rings upon her
Fingers and toes
A necklace of gold and
Bracelets of silver
Then wrapping her in
Linen
A procession begins
The mourners following
Close behind weeping
Tears in their bottles
To place in the tomb of
The child…
“He keeps track of our sorrows,
He has collected our tears in
His bottles” Psalm 56:8
Donna's Poetry Blog 