“Intense love always leads to mourning.”
— LOUISE GLUCK
I have been blessed beyond words with priceless friends, some for almost a lifetime, and others who have enriched just a few chapters of what is now becoming a long-ish life lived. This most challenging chapter, titled “Grief”, will be the longest chapter. It started 76 months ago and will last until I take my final breath. This chapter contains stories from the mundane to the profound of how my friends have held me up and kept me going. I awoke this morning, as I do on the 8th of every month, with a deliberate reflection of what I want to capture in words today as I continue to mark this journey. I have a friend who reads every word I write, every month, and then always sends me a note of love and encouragement. However, this morning, she sent that note before I ever wrote a word. In it, she shared the words of the poet Louise Gluck, quoted above, who just won the Nobel Prize for literature. She didn’t need my monthly post to think about me and my daughter and the love she knows we shared. She felt it in the words of a poet and shared that gift with me knowing that this is the day every month when I try and find my own words. I am blessed beyond words with priceless friends.
Oh Lisa – how true are the words of the poet. Funny how they capture our m most intense feeling with an economy of words. As we get older and our friends start to depart, or we encounter unexpected and intense loss – we all struggle with finding meaning and moving forward. Your monthly musings are a way for us to embrace our loss and struggle, and I appreciate your willingness to share.
?