She Was An Angel....

Yonna
She was an angel who decided to leave.
Broken wings and feeble, she had lost all belief.

Unspoken were words ~ unheard were her dreams.
Friends who had loved her are still awakened with screams.

It was a violent departure not understood.
Someone so righteous yet misunderstood.

So, in the darkness, I think of her now.
And I cry just a little and I ask myself how.

How could she leave us, our wings broken too.
For a world no better than the one she knew.

An angel with no mercy
She left us dispelled
To find the truth in the mystery
She never unveiled.

- written on November 9, 1989


My dear friend, Jennifer Young, returned the poem I wrote many years ago to me yesterday; the very day I was introduced to Yonna’s mother, Kathy, for the first time.

Instantly, I knew Kathy would help heal my heart in places I tried to forget were wounded.

Life Goes On

There is no greater blessing than to be present, when by the grace of God, a new life enters this world. Of course, when I gave birth to my own children I was overwhelmed with pure love and joy beyond measure. The moment when a woman becomes a mother is surreal. Through you, life goes on. I can not fully express with words the honor and sincere gratitude I feel toward the beautiful women who have allowed me to share in that spectacular and miraculous moment in their lives. Thank you is simply inadequate.

Although it was excruciating, I was also blessed to be present when my grandfather took his last breath and the light that had shined so brightly in his eyes faded away. To be present when that bridge from life to death is crossed is a sacred gift. I felt strongly that my grandmother would be waiting for him on that bridge and I hoped I’d feel her presence as he left us to meet her there. That day in particular, I found myself praying hard that life, indeed, does go on.

I absolutely love to stand at the edge of the ocean and let the waves crash over me and pull the sand away beneath my feet. In those moments, in my mind, the ocean and I are one. The magnificent and unending sound of the waves crashing along the shore is nature’s promise of eternity. Soon, I will be walking along the ocean's edge and I will take delight in that beautiful promise that life goes on.