A Holy Saturday Poem

Prologue: During my run this morning my thoughts were heavy with this day. It is a part of the Easter story that has taken on particular spiritual significance for me since Joe's death and the losses that have come in my life after. I have blogged about it on several occasions including here and here. Most recently, I've been grieving the loss of my grandmother who died just over a month ago. We had a close relationship and she inspired me deeply in my own faith. One thing that has come to the surface through this most recent grief is how urgently we as people and as a society are groomed and designed to try to move past pain and grief, often to the detriment of really wrestling with it. On my run it was a line from my all time favorite movie that came to me and stuck...thank God for The Princess Bride...

In it, The Man In Black (who is really Westley) says to Princess Buttercup (his True Love): "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." 

It's true, and it brought me to throw together these words throughout the day. The result is not like my usual blog post, but perhaps the fact that my G-Mom had saved a bunch of my old poetry and it just got passed back to me has gotten me in a mood...

Holy Saturday

The day after the death.

When each task seems like the most impossible thing.

The day after the death.

When time stands still.

The day after the death.

When all feels lost.

The day after the death.

When your broken heart threatens to take the rest of your body with it.

The day after the death.

When everyone else continues to swirl around you with life.

The day after the death.

When you don't know whether you can go on. Or how you will go on. Or if you should go on.

The day after the death.

When there are things to do and people to see and only zombie-like eyes to get through it all.

This day after the death of Christ.

When the rest of the world catches up to those of us who know the weight of grief's grip every day.

This day after the death.

Before the resurrection.

Before the hope.

Before the light.

When there is just darkness.

And pain.

And waiting.