These poems are from when my mother passed away and try to express my feelings of grief. They are all included on this one page. Alda Ione Coon 1924-1997 GRIEF Grief is like a stone That falls endlessly Into the dark well Of my soul--and When it hits, I shatter like glass grief gone the arms that held me gone forever gone the voice of reason and unreasonable worry tell me, please, what was your hurry? but you cannot-- you are gone and these are the things you left when you left us all forever: broken hearts, such tender memories, all those things we never said, only silence now instead only questions will remain... and pain The day of birth comes And the infant cries out With a pain of separation She gropes with tight-shut eyes For the familiar mother-sound And smell and taste Of life So familiar since emerging From that dark-blind place She howls with grief Each time the mother puts her down And goes away This pain of separation From the sound, the touch The life-giver. Umbilicous of love That lasts forever That no doctor's knife can cut And no length of miles Can ever cease. And then one day She cries again with tight-shut eyes And grief wells up from inside A dark-blind place in her heart And she gropes again--to emptiness The pain of separation A baby from its mother Mother-love is life itself-- Where are you now? And how can I go on? To Mama: I would not want to bring you back To more of sorrow's endless pain A further suffering without gain I do not wish to hurt you more I would not bring you back again And I could never summon you To make you share my worldly worry Or cause you any more of grief To share with you my unbelief Or small success in wealth or fame Nor could I wish to share the blame I would not bring you back again But, for a moment, I would, if I could By some great miracle of love, I would with joy welcome you back If I could only hold your hand Or kiss your cheek and look once more Upon the one my own life bore And tell you once again of love And gratitude Now with so poignant great regret That I still in my grief possess When I forgot, and gave you less My love your patient love long earned I'd share with you what I have learned If I could only bring you back December 1997, by Dona Pearson Mother Mother I am And grandmother, sister, wife, daughter Mother you were Grandmother, sister, wife, daughter And Friend Poetry