Emergence Poem by Linda Marie Van Tassell

When I first saw her, she did not see me;
for, she was lost in a world of her own.
She stared off into space but did not see
and just sat there as if chiseled from stone.
She sat in the corner of memory;
and though with others, she sat there alone,
aimlessly adrift on a sea of will,
where winds do not blow and the mind is still.

In languid silence, with her tears unshed,
she mourned the loss of the one she loved best
by cradling the blanket from his bed
that warmed him when he was laid down to rest.
Such a blanket is not meant for the dead.
It's meant to hearten a sad mother's breast.
I took her hand and placed it in my own
to let her know she did not walk alone.

The wings of an angel parted the sky,
parting the sky from the skirt of the sea.
She said, 'I never got to say good-bye, '
and 'Why did God take him away from me? '
I could not answer; for, I knew not why,
the why nor the way of her agony.
I only knew that no time could erase
the memories of his sweet little face.

I told her to treasure what God gave her,
and that motherhood is never in vain.
In time, she would hold her baby, Laver,
and their two hearts would be joined once again.
Life is full of moments we should savor,
both good and bad, with both flowers and rain.
We should rejoice and give honor and praise
that we loved, no matter how short the days.

The sunlight came streaming through the window,
warming her soul from a slant of the sky;
and I watched her delight in the day-glow
as the spark of life returned to her eye.
She stepped out of the shadows of sorrow,
avoiding waves and the winds blowing by.
Her glorious spirit of love and light
is a star of hope in heaven tonight.