This is a letter/poem that I wrote to a dear friend many years ago, when I heard that she had lost her husband. I was overcome with such huge compassion and all I wanted to do was erase her pain. Sadly, this was the best I could offer……..
My dear friend,
I wish I could paint you a landscape, in which you could glimpse the promise of a new day. Where you will awaken not to grief, but with the hint of a smile, in anticipation of a small, but significant joy.
If I could only construct you some wings, that I could bind around your shoulders, and they would life you high up, above the weight of your sadness. And you could soar, even for just one day. Free from the pain that I know holds you so firmly in its unrelenting grasp.
Surely I can concoct you a potion, a magical, miraculous brew. That can meld back together the pieces of your broken heart, so that the edges no longer stab you when you least expect it. And peace could settle in and be wholly yours.
I dreamed I could whisper on the wind, a secret melody that would float through your window and lull you into a deep and restful sleep. Where hurt was healed and your weary soul remembered the possibilities that await you with each new dawn.
If I could capture some rays from the midday sun, and hold them over your, until the chill of your sorrow is gone, and tiny seeds burst forth, with the first buds of hope. I would linger until a meadow of happiness had grown all around you.
However, my landscapes lack depth, and the gravity of truth is stronger than the pull of my imaginary wings. But whilst the only magic I have is the miracle of friendship – this I do send on the wind to you, each and every day. And although the secrets of ensnaring the sun at noon continue to elude me, I can simply wish for you, a rainbow.
And until the day that wishes come true, and you look up and see those bands of colour stretched across your sky, remember that you are not alone. I cannot fix the things that are broken, and no matter how hard I search, I still cannot find a way to settle the turbulence of the seas you have been cast adrift on.
But I will reach out my hand to help pull you into shore if ever you feel you are sinking. And although I am small, know that I am strong enough to help you carry your burden any time the load becomes too heavy for one.
How I wish I could paint you a landscape. But all I can do is offer you a haven here in my world, any time the grey skies threaten to overwhelm you in yours. I am here for you.
Your friend, Michele
© Michele Harrod, 1999 (Photo, 2010)
Miraculously Middle-Aged 