For an assignment in her 9th grade Honors English class, my daughter was asked to write a poem using a strong emotion and linking it to a metaphor that would flow throughout the entire poem. I loved it when I first read it. Apparently, her teacher was impressed with it too. More importantly, I think it speaks volumes to this Grief Road that I’m currently walking. I wanted to share it with you. I’m proud of my girlie!
Grief is the Ocean
By: Anna Combs
Grief is the ocean
That contains crevices of darkness,
Bursting with hidden life.
Its waves are unpredictable.
In the beginning, the hard, rushing, swift ones
Seem impossible to get through.
The farther into the water,
The waves begin to relax.
At this point in the journey,
The ocean offers a brief rest.
And then it comes, without warning.
A tsunami-sized wave threatening
To sweep everything in its path
Further out to sea.
Even in the farthest places of the sea,
Even in the darkest gaps,
Life still exists within.
Beautiful, and so full of meaning.
Thank you Paula! It blew me away!
Wow, Anna! Beautiful! :~)
Thank you for complimenting her Carrie! I think it’s beautiful too! 🙂
So well written! Interesting that at her age she is able to see life in the dark crevices of grief. That gives me something to think about.
Candy – so right you are! In many ways, she’s your “typical” teenager, but in other ways, she’s so far outside the box it scares me at times. This one amazed me!
Fabulous! She really captured the tide of healthy grief. BTW, please pray for me today as I meet a younger widow who’s husband committed suicide last year. *
Ferree – Amen! I am praying for you!!!! Keep me posted!
A beautiful job, Anna. Thank you for sharing this with us, Leah. xo
Heatherly – Thanks for blessing my girl with your comment! 🙂 Love you!
So beautiful and true, going through grief is exactly like the ocean, you never know when the next wave is going to come along and knock you off your feet. But with God’s love we can keep getting back up. What a gifted intelligent daughter you have, I know she gives you inspiration to keep going. Just like you are an inspiration to her and all of us, thank you for sharing this with us.
Sue – What sweet words you shared! Thank you for that! Yes, I think Anna is a pretty special gal (but, I AM a little biased…I know). 🙂 I think the “wave” motif was perfect, and I think she understands that perfectly, because she’s heard me constantly refer to the tidal waves of grief. I can often sense when they’re coming and try to “warn” her just in case.
Anna…this should be published!! Maybe I need to digitally scrapbook this and we should hang it on the wall at Windy Hill. Leah….will you share the photos of you and Anna that you used here?? I’ll work on it at Scrap Camp
I agree Liz! I think she did a beautiful job! Yes – I’ll be glad to share the pics for you to scrapbook it. Anna will be flattered that you’d want to hang that at Windy Hill! 🙂
And, I see the gift of writing runs in the family!
Awww…Eileen…you’re such a sweetie! Thank you!
Wow. Anna. This is amazing….
Thank you Tammy! What a sweet compliment to Anna!
How beautiful and accurate: summarizing grief in such a lovely , visual way! I loved this, Leah. My compliments to Anna!
Thanks Renee! Anna has been reading the sweet comments, and it’s tickled her to pieces. I think it was pretty “right on” myself! 🙂
Beautifully written, a special daughter you have.
Thank you Christa! I think she’s pretty special myself. 🙂
Beautiful, Anna! Both your Father’s in Heaven are looking down and smiling at you. This poem will help many others dealing with grief. You are a blessing.
Thanks for your sweet comment Jill! I’ll be sure to share with Anna this evening. You are a blessing too!
Leah,
So very proud of our girl and of you!
Thanks Dennis! Yep – she amazes me more and more everyday!