Grief
Hard enough
Grief plus regret
Harder still
Mom, before you passed
From this “vale of tears”
Through the veil of death
I regret, I didn’t say aloud
“Thank you for all you’ve done for me”
I didn’t know how
How to express my gratitude
For so many years of your gifts to me
For so many years of your being a gift to me
So many years of showing me
What God’s love looks/sounds/feels like
Of helping me to recognize
To know
And to follow
The voice of the Good Shepherd
I regret I was afraid to say thank you
I’ve had many tears
Of faith-eased regret
Hope-soaked longing
And love-driven sorrow
But…
The veil is Oh, so thin
Allowing love, and gifts, to pass through
While this regret was on my mind
A song came on while driving
That drove pain away
I heard you speaking to me through its refrain…
Later, a line from a book…
A word from a family member…
A verse of scripture…
And many other voices…
Words of light passing brightly through that dark veil
From you, who abide in God
Heaven’s healing gifts
When I say to you aloud,
“Thank you for all you’ve done for me”
You hear it now
One day
(By the dying
And undying of that Shepherd)
I will say it again
With a new voice
And you will hear it with new ears
In the “new heavens
And the new earth”
Where every last regret is healed
And every tear
“Wiped away”
By our Father
Rhymes for the Rejoiceful 