The Rules of Engaging Grief

A walk on the beach at dawn prompted this reflection.

“Heard”

Did sun below
A cloud bank at dawn
Notice him direct
On the beach alone?

Is that why it tipped
Gold-leaf light forward
To form a narrow path
On glitter-flat water,

For a dolphin pod
To approach so close
As if to hear distinct
Soft murmurings of a soul?

I still remember fifty years ago seeing the three questions carved above the altars of a Jesuit seminary — where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going. These last few days, I have been thinking again about the answers. Perhaps, a rereading — there have been several — of Kazantzakis’ Zorba The Greek influenced my reflection. Here is the poem:

“Recognized”

Whither is a region
Shadow dark where hardly
Distinguishable we roam
Unknown — one without another.

Here consciousness seeds us
Awash in soul-color splash,
Life-light dazzles blazes
That radiate – beckon

Through a portal spiral
Swirl dance melody love
Amidst eternal pulsing time,
Now recognized yet one.

I just returned from Sedona, AZ. While there, I visited the site where our family gathered to scatter the ashes of my spouse five years ago.  Here is the poem I wrote to commemorate this occasion.

“New Beginnings”

Alone he walks a path –
Dusty red rock
Through Juniper pine
Winding upward for a mile,

Blast furnace heat envelops
As he ascends further
White rose tipped-red in hand
Where Kachina Woman* waits

In supplication and prayer,
Standing upon burnt shale,
A carpet of tears it seems;
He sits in her shadow

Recalls years ago
When he let loose in sadness
Love’s ashes to the breeze
To honor life’s transition.

Now upon a gnarled mesquite
Clinging tenaciously
To the barren surface
Patient for the rain,

He releases rose petals
With care – deliberately
In reflection of life –
A  love now passed.

After a time he rises
Retraces his steps
Returns to where it began –
A place of new beginnings.

  
*A red rock spire so named near Boynton Canyon outside of Sedona, AZ