Sometimes
The math does not add up
There is no “blessing in disguise”
Or lesson learned
That can outweigh the tragedy.
Sometimes
All you can do
Is water the ground with tears
Where you used to dance.
Sometimes
The only prayer you can pray is
“I don’t understand.”
And then,
You can say to your soul
“I give you permission to
Throw your hands in the sky in praise
Or bloody your knees in lament.
Whatever you need.”
“I give you permission
To cradle that ache in your heart
Or grasp onto hope like a last breath.
Whatever you need."
But in the midst of the allowing
Know this….
The heartbreak that radiates fire from your soul
Is surrounded
Above and below and behind
Like a tribe circling one of its own.
Your weakened body is lifted up in the arms
Of other humans who also grieve
And arched over with wings
Of One who also suffered.
We will dig here together
Watering the soil
With our collective tears.
We will plant seeds
That we pray will grow
Into a different tomorrow.
And as we dirty our hands with the aching earth
We will look upon the faces
Of each other
And of the other
And see the face of God
In eyes a thousand colors.
With a million voices that sound as one
We will sing together as we toil…
“We are not alone. We will never be alone.”
Inspired by Kate Bowler