3.29.2011

I don't have hundreds of friends, not even on Facebook. But in the past three weeks, it seems that way too many of my small circle have been hit by pain and suffering.
  • Two friends lost their mothers to illness.
  • My brother-in-law (husband to one of Jim's sisters) lost a brother to suicide.
  • One of the bridesmaids in our wedding was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer.
  • The "trail walks leader" at our shelter was attacked and severely injured by a dog that had just arrived at the shelter.
Religion might be helpful right now, but I abandoned that nearly two decades ago, with assistance from the Sisters of Mercy. Instead of the word of God, I now read poetry when sorrow arrives.

But mostly I just stand in the dark field,
in the middle of the world, breathing 

in and out. Life so far doesn't have any other name
but breath and light, wind and rain. 

from "What Is There Beyond Knowing" by Mary Oliver 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful lines, Kate

Jude said...

oh the Sisters of Mercy
they are not forgotten or gone
they were waiting for me
when I thought that I just can't go on

Paul N said...

When I read about things like this, I find solace in the words of Kilgore Trout in Venus on the Half Shell when he finally meets the creator and asks him "Why are we put in this universe to suffer and die? The creator takes a sip of his beer, belches, and says "Why not." It just seems to make as much sense as anything else I can think of.