We grieve
but there is a love
stronger than death,
greater than the life
given in this mortal breath.
We grieve but
there is life
in a larger sense
that exceeds the limits of
our human experience.
There is peace
beyond the grave,
deeper than the quiet
of this temporal plane.
There is hope
higher than the sky,
lengths of thread
unfurled beyond our sight.
Though we grieve
there is faith
in mankind, despite ourselves,
in each other,
beyond the losses of today.
We are asked to love,
when love is hardest
and restore the life for each other,
that is taken away.
To be the peace and hope
that would be stolen,
as if peace were a fleeting gift
and hope up for the taking.
For our peace and love,
hope and life
spring from a fountain,
fed by an eternal source.
We grieve
but await the answers
to our questions.
We are not without a reason
or a purpose for our remaining.
We are not without,
a morning,
to burn away the darkness of
today.
Ana Lisa de Jong
November 2017
Image: Kamil Szybalski, Unsplash
Living Tree Poetry 