It's Raining in my Heart

It's a beautiful day
The sun is bright; the sky is clear
A good day for a burial...
We have to stand outside.

Inside my heart it's raining
A cloudburst, and the skies are gray.
No matter how much I blink
The tears keep coming.

It's my mother
Who they'll lower into the ground.
And while I knew this day would come
I can't stop the rain.

Nancy Perkins
1/20/13

Passing

Fifteen years ago on a
January day in Mississippi
my husband made a leap
from here to eternity
and in seconds
left us prostrate
on the ground
in grief and pain.

Here now
in another January
Mother makes the leap
this time in slow motion.
We stand on the sidelines
Helpless as she draws
another labored breath
not yet the last.

He holds the book
the pages of each life.
He knows the number of our days.
And when the final page is turned
the life we love is gone
and we are left here
on the ground--
gazing upward.

Nancy Perkins
1/13/13

Ten minutes after I wrote this poem, I went and sat beside her, held her hand, and watched her complete that leap into eternity. All is well.

Going Home

There seems to be a struggle

Twixt the body—

Grasping to hold on to the familiar—

And the spirit

Reaching to break through

The veil.

And we stand

Watching

Weeping

Waiting

As the mystery

That is life and death

Works out in wonder

Before our eyes.

We’re caught between

Clinging to what we

Hold so dear

And wishing she would

Take that final breath

And wake beyond.

Nancy Perkins

1/10/13

Epiphany

Seeking

the grace of new beginnings

joining the magi with a gift

an open heart

a heart of love

laid down once more

before the Son

a spirit

opened up for more

an ear attuned

to words of love

the seeking

never ends

yet ever more

discovers

deeper mystery

greater truth

deeper wells of

love

-Nancy Perkins

1/6/13