Some hearts healed

My parents
Both have gone
How grateful I am
For what they gave
Their nurturing, their love

When her beloved passed away
Her life was not the same
Not having him beside her
To talk to, or hold her hand

And we were not to know it
But her time with us was short
It only took forty days
To die from a broken heart

Hard for us to comprehend
So tortuous to see
Her body each day grew weaker
Till she slipped away from family

Our hearts are broken in pieces
As they did, not that long ago
But we know that she is happy now
Back in the arms of her lovey Joe

 

Mumma ~ 30.3.1929 – 29.5.2017

Poppa ~ 03.7.1927 – 19.4.2017

It is with great sadness that I let you know, that my darling mum Irene, passed away on the 29th of May. Fighting for almost 19 days, no food, no fluid. Some complications, but under advice, my brother and I made the hardest decision to let nature takes its course.
The thread that holds me together is knowing that both ‘my penguins’ are now in each other’s arms once again, after forty days of being apart.

I stayed in her hospital room, as I did for Pop, for the two and a half weeks, loving her, talking to her, hugging her, kissing her. The last 5 days unresponsive, but I spoke to her continually. My heart tearing in to pieces, with every shallow breath she took.

Now I take the road of grief and it hurts and cuts like a knife, both my parents now gone so soon, too soon.

RIP Muma and Poppa

till I see you again

xx

Down by the river

He sat by the river bank
Black wavy hair
Brushing his shoulders
Eyes of deepest green
He was there
Sitting between the cat-tails
Arms wrapped around bended knees
Skin glistening in the afternoon sun

That’s where I last saw him
His stare skipping the rippled water
His smile the one I fell for
As I waved my arms and cried his name
He waited
There by the river
As my blood pooled against the bank

Photo Credit 123rtf.com

Mother’s Day

From a child, to the adult that I am
You cared & guided me
Along life’s path
Selfless in your love
Today I want to thank you
For making me the person I’ve become

I didn’t think when I was younger
Of the struggles we’d face now
Once upon a time you held my hand
To cross the busy road
Now it is I who hold yours
Our ups & downs & in-between’s

Our tears of joy & sorrow
Our laughter through the years
Not knowing how life would change
But no matter where this journey takes us
Our bond & love forever will remain

“Happy Mothers Day”

To all the mums around the world

To all the children who no longer have their mums by their side

To all who have struggles and all who don’t

Remember them today & always

💐💐💐💐💐❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Grief before the end

Grief
Physically invisible
It doesn’t knock to be invited in
It’s felt, before the door has opened
The curtains bellow from the volume
Circling around

Gathering in strength
Some days your legs give way
An ebb and flow a dance of
Sorrow and of pain

It invades your personal autonomy
Stretching the silence into hidden tears
This before the need arises
Not knowing when the knock will be heard

So we bide the time
Wait and hope and see
Preparing ourselves to cope, to deal
The best way that we can
Until the real dance begins

Starting….finishing

We were weightless butterflies
Held in our mothers arms
We then shed tears at cut knees
And as we grew
With what we felt
Not from scratch or bruises
But from our heart

As the years followed
We,  born of wings
Feel the weight of weariness
Knowing how much we’ve changed
Relying on those who love us
To carry the burden of ourselves

If we could end our own suffering
Without guilt or laws set concrete
Not to cast eyes upon those who
Give us life itself 

Could we

Would we

Death Tree

I walk
Along the path where wheels are spun and
Feet tread
The morning hot, I am glad for blankets of
Cloud that hide the sun
Leaves scattered like splinters against the cement and
Like a child I step on them to hear their noise
A tree stands tall though dry
She is bound towards her base with plastic wrap
Here she holds like a mother of her young
Colourless flowers of plastic
In memory of a soul
Beside the highway as lives drive past
Someone had lost theirs
She is not dry for lack of water but
From sheding all her tears

 

 

 

Don’t close your eyes

Where do you go to escape
if trapped amongst the evil
a maze of doors and corridors
confronting you

Do you sense what’s lurking
feel the chill cut into the
words you speak out loud
hoping to allay your fears

The full moon hangs in the
darkness as wind whistles
breaking the rhythm of your
heart

Shadow
was it…
her cloak folding
around the corner

Footsteps
are they…
no human form
visible

Who intervenes
when the living contact
those who have screamed
their path to death

Compelled to know
their lives
perhaps at risk to theirs
evidence at what cost

Let the cold night wind
break your heart beat
keep the doors closed
evil has its secrets

Copyright JMTacken 5.3.2015

Perhaps I shouldn’t watch the show Haunted, when it’s dark outside…

I am the stone

My spirits in the stone you hold
Warm it for a while, before I’m
cast in to the coolness of the lake
say your goodbyes
your peace with me
as I return to earth

As you let go into the stillness
remember the first ripples that you see
they belong to you, my love
the closet that is to me
for you I’ve loved and
have been loved in return

You are the one I fear for most
your pain will be felt most
the ripples continue outwards
belonging to family
beyond the eddies the circles wide
are for my life long friends

The water runs deep
I sink slowly to rest
along the sands below
beneath the cool
the ripples will subside
as must your pain

When all you see is the sunset
and no more sight of ‘me’
I will return to those I’ve loved
I still have breath to breathe

Copyright JMTacken 13.1.2015

Do you?

Do you
Do you
Talk to the dead
lay flowers on the stone
run your finger tips inside
the chiselled line of their name
the date they came into the world
the day that they had gone
connecting the dots of their life
through marble fragments
with your memories

Will you
Will you
Cast your pain and suffering unto them
hoping to alleviate yours
for they have left and you have not
guilt subsides
you must rest as they do

Can you
Can you
believe that as much as seasons change
when leaves fall
or hold strong to boughs
when coats are cast or donned again
as day turns to night
and night brings a new morn
you will be once more
together in their arms

Do you
Will you
Can you

 

 

copyright JMTacken 7.1.2015

She was his

He grabbed her
hands around her diminutive waist
his words were honey dripped
of love, desire and she held
them all as they danced around
the perfume of magnolias
below the sky of gems

Her skirts swirled across the grass
his eyes blue as ocean spray
pierced her heart and the blood
mingled with the honey
melting into his arms

losing himself in her
the tilt of her head, the fall of her hair
the smile that was brighter than the stars
and he held her close and firm

then the moon showed itself
its luminous glow burst across the graves
and he was alone
his arms empty

copyright JMTacken 5.1.2015