Blessed Are They Who Mourn
In the northwest corner of Iraq,
in a Kurdish stronghold, toppled,
in a drafty hovel,
a child, alone, whimpers.
for his parents
who will not return.
In a small country on the African continent,
in an isolated region near the coast,
in the ruins of a burnt-out shack,
a mother wails.
Her child, her lover are dead
bled out by a virus.
In a remote village of Ukraine,
in an unsettled township,
in a frigid home,
an old man shivers.
His world is shattered,
he wonders what comes next.
In a not-far part of my city,
in a homeless settlement by the river,
in a flimsy tent made of old blankets,
a family waits,
dreams of a recent past
before they lost their jobs.
In a southwest suburb of here,
in the warmth of a mansion,
in a world not known to us,
a childless couple grieves
the death of the dog they loved
for seventeen years.
In a corner of my heart,
in the waking hours of morn,
in the silence of my room,
these losses loom.
How can I comfort
so much loss?
Linked to dVerse Open Link Night. Please join us. Somehow, as I enjoy so much abundance, these realities seem all the more expedient. Sadly, this poem could go on and on…
The amount of pain and suffering in our world is truly overwhelming. Mother Theresa was a very wise woman when she said, “one person at a time”. We only have two hands but imagine the possibilities of two times millions and millions.
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It can be overwhelming…beautifully written Victoria.
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Loss is felt all over the world..we all grieve and experience heartbreak..a powerful poem..
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So sad this Victoria. Yet life and death is painful to each person in its degree. Some say we choose what to learn or to help people in our earthly lives. Who knows? Hope you are well.
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It does often feel like we are powerless in front of so much loss, so much grieving. I suppose the only thing we can do is give voice to this sadness, to the injustice, to the voiceless…
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I think there is a reason that hypocrisy is mentioned so much in the scriptures and is so detested by Jesus. All evil is created by man. There seems to be a justification and delineation between the way people behave on a personal level and the way world events are conducted.
I do not hold with that view. Anyone behaving in a vicious destructive way towards another ,in spite of performing numerous good works, proclamation of love of God ,spirituality, holding high office and respectable positions etc is in the same league as those who perpetrate atrocities we read about in the news
There is no differentiation in the causing of suffering. The cybernet bully, the scurrilous gossiper, the vicious character assassin is in the same league as the beheader and the terrorist. Given the right circumstances these people are capable of anything . Compassion cannot be learnt it is intrinsic….a God given gift.
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Ralletanda….I feel the same way but could not have expressed it as eloquently as you have here. I believe that we have the capabilities to change the world for the better. We could save many lives, warm many souls. We have enough time, money, people, resources to do it, but society as a whole has too many different agendas.Often they do not start with peace and compassion.
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Victoria, your poem touched my heart. So much grieving, So much misery, and we have so much full stop. How can we share? How can we help? There is so much trouble that we are discouraged, unable to help a specific person. When I watch the TV news, I wish for magic powers, to make it all right again.
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Sadly they could Victoria, but you have made such a valid and important point here. So well done.
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It takes a powerful heart to do that.. and certainly one of a hospice assistant that could do it…
It wears on those of lesser hearts…
But thank God for folks with greater hearts like you…
as i do not think i would have the kind of heart that is this strong..
in what can be so dark in life…. but i would try my best…
not to fail others in heart….. but anyway bless you for what you do.. as this is only i know the tip of the iceberg of love in what you do…:)
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Thank you, Freddie. We each have our gifts in life–I admire you and your ability to share what it is like to live with autism–definitely, a gift most of us wouldn’t know how to handle.
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It is sad and beautiful. Staying in India means you are a first hand witness to the sufferings of millions, yet powerless to make any real difference. A dent here, a scratch there.
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So many comments, especially yours, brings to mind Mother Theresa. One time a journalist said to her (this is all paraphrased as I remember it) “How can you really expect to make a difference.” She answered, “One person at a time.” I guess that’s all we can expect. And your staying in India, no doubt, allows you to do that. Same here. There is plenty of suffering to go around, even in supposedly affluent countries.
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There are lots of sufferings that one just feels the hopelessness. Those sufferings prompted by ill-luck diseases and natural disasters are acceptable to reason. But those in furtherance of man’s greed that cause wars and upheavals against the love of human kind is just horrible. You brought it out very well Victoria!
Hank
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Victoria, you captured the sad reality of the right now world we live in with Jesus reminding us that He mourns right along with us. And yes, your poem could go on…
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We all have our measure of pain and that is why we can hurt for each other. It is overwhelming to see all the suffering.
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The world is a hostile place – full of life & death – it can all be hard to handle at times. In this place of so much gloom we must devote our energy toward who & what makes us happy. That’s the only way to keep your sanity.
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Jesus warned us, there would be rising of peoples against each other, and much suffering. The world is gone completely mad. Violence is the art of the times.
I like your poem. You present the insanity in a nice way.
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part of it is knowing we can not take it away…and that loss is part of life…and we have all experienced it…some more than others but it is a part of all of us…and in that we live through it together…
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So many losses in this world. And we only know the surface of them, I am sure. If we knew the depth of them, our heart could definitely not bear it.
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Hello again Victoria and thanks so much for this – the endless and infinite challenge of compassion personified – it touched me… With Best Wishes Scott
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Somehow we have to make a choice… on whose pain to mend.. maybe we can choose a simple way..and it seldom leads to the one in dearest need… still we try
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…They will be comforted.
I will never understand why some have so much and others have even the little they have taken away.
But I do believe in the righting of wrongs and love!
Warm Blessings as you prepare for Christmas…
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Without the darkness, we would not fully appreciate the light; as poets we cannot seem to look away from those who are suffering, cannot harden our hearts with selfish endeavor, & thank the gods for that.
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I loved this. I felt you soul! The heart of a nurse is so pure, and I love seeing what comes out in words.
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I feel their pain too, Victoria. Although I don’t feel blessed by it because it is a weight on my heart, I do think that it is very important to feel empathy, and to be able to mourn for & with others, especially strangers.
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I agree that we do feel very powerless in front of so much loss and pain. I liked how much your words encompass, Victoria.
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