Grief

I rediscovered an old collage journal lately. 2012 was a hard year for me, with flash floods of grief. I expressed it after the waves of grief passed.

In the distance
Rumbles of thunder sound
Like heartbeats of an irritable God.
Barometric pressure drops
Anticipating a coming storm.
Then unexpected cracks of lightning
Out of a clear blue sky.
Pressure mounts in the black clouds overhead
And the sky darkens.
Blinding tears burst forth raining fast
Soaking everything in a hard downpour.
Then, as suddenly as it began,
The storm is over
Rain stops
Clouds recede
The sky brightens.
The air is fresh and clean again,
The gods of thunder and lightning
Returning to their secret place.
The sun returns to dry
The drenched landscape,
And somewhere underground,
A new seed receives the needed watering
And grows.

Author's Note

Simple, I know, just another cloudburst. A way to look at grief as a natural process, even when unexpected. What if I were a god, grieving, bigger than this world?

Reviews

[KingJoseph]

I really love how you made grief a natural process! Its a great comparison actually and makes it seem so powerful when in fact, it really is! Especially the part where "The gods of thunder and lightning returning to their secret place", super love this line! Lovely read as usual :)

[Marianne Rose]

Thank you so much for your comments, it does seem like a powerful storm that overtakes us, and I've told so many grieving friends that the waves of grief will come, and then they will vanish, and come again, without warning. It helps me to survive the grief of so many people in my life dying by reminding myself the storm will pass- been through it many times, will certainly be more. Thank you for reading and your kind review.

[KingJoseph]

Truth be told, it has helped me realize as well! I am currently in grief for personal reasons and reading this helps me understand what I am feeling. Knowing that it is norma to be sad and never to be ashamed for even the Gods in your poem had succumbed to hiding. Always a pleasure reading your poems! Do continue to post more :)

[H.L. Cerveise]

This is a lovely analogy comparing a coming storm and a wave a grief or like you say a god expressing themselves. It is so easy in this writing to see all those things. The hope at the end of a seed, now starting its journey upward above the dirt it is buried in was a terrific ending.

Well done.

[Marianne Rose]

Thank you HL, I'm happy the analogy works and that the hope is felt at the end. Like death, grief is not often honored as the sacred process it is. I guess that's what wants to be seen now, by as many as can relate, or by those who have pushed it away into the haze of denial. Perhaps that is one of my tasks as a potential "warrior poet"- to honor what our civilization wants to trivialize or bypass. Thank you for your kind words about the effectiveness of the poem also.

[Chrys Marie]

This is such a beautiful and unique way to portray grief. I hope to see more of this kind of writing!

[Marianne Rose]

Thank you! Your words warm my heart and transmit understanding. Thank you for stopping by and encouraging me to write more on this topic- there is a lot to write!

[Inject Positivity]

Without grief there is no happiness...

It is the ultimate truth of life, even the best of world faces such circumstances when grief appears with it hand full of pain and tears but just like the sun comes out after the rain, it too passes away... It is important to let it wash us cleanly so when it goes away we can live again with gratitude and faith in God...

Just like a heavy storm breaks the stem of a newly born plant in the night, similarly the next day the sun and our nature helps it to maintain its balance and prepares it for the future storms...

This is a poem that has been created with lot of thought and experience... Absolutely humbled to read it...

Sincerely
Dhiman

[Marianne Rose]

I love your image of the stem breaking at night in a storm, and nature healing it. Thank you- your reviews are always filled with the light of understanding, and being seen is what most of us, including me, long for. This kind of writing just pours out of me- so it's unedited and just natural- grace using our experiences to form these thoughts. I'm open to it coming, but i can't say i can take credit for how and when it comes- that seems to be some mysterious process I have yet to understand with my mind. Thank you for coming back agan and again to do what your name says.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

not so simple...there is a really nice allegory to this...the new seed watered like the new life that grows after the storm destroys the heart, trees of emotion felled by the strong, damaging winds of pain.

well done, Marianne--

more beneath the surface here...than appears.
j.

[Marianne Rose]

I like your continuing with the theme . . . Insightful and creative. A very helpful review that makes me want to go back to something I dashed off quickly and explore another layer. Thank you J., your review is very constructive and encouraging.