In The Middle Of Grief

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ Leave a comment

In The Middle Of Grief

No start here’s demarcated for convenience, clearly
Black and white signage gone missing
Like a crucial stop sign stolen by the juvenile for wall art in their dorm

No lesson plan, well bullet-pointed, yellow Sharpie highlighted
Key points in bold to guide you
Clear as water, bought and paid for

No manual, though plenty of truisms
“Grief shared is grief diminished”
Comes to mind amid the grief

No terra firma
Safe harbors
Ports in the storm for the rocking boat

For the raw time being
In the beginning there is death, and we are parted
Dearly departed, we
Until the healing begins

And you begin to move through the arc of grief
Slow, not steady
Like an 8th grader, in Calculus class
Over their head, up to their mascara heavy, eye-shadow laden eyeballs
In deep

Walking to the grave helps
Just don’t watch me grieve
You told me all I need to know
I was loved
I loved
Well

There is no middle
There is no end
The circle is never broken

Ashes to ashes, dust to dusk
And then the bell rings
Time’s up, pencils down

It is well to remember
You were loved
You loved
Well

The circle of love is never broken, friend
Your bark has made it’s mark on me

 

 

 

 

▶ New Poem One Day I Will Write A Poem by graceappears

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 2 Comments

Sharing a bit of poetry which I recorded on Sound Cloud many moons ago.

As I head off on a brief journey up into the woods and hills, I am anticipating the time I will spend with my mother. Dementia has hijacked so much and yet there is still joy. There is still beauty.

And poetry remains. To be excavated, dusted off, writen, savored and read.

We will read hers. We will read Milne.

We will crawl into the waiting arms of poetry. A refuge in the storm. A card catalog of now and then.

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https://m.soundcloud.com/graceappears/new-poem-one-day-i-will-write?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=pinterest

The Greatest Of These Is Love

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ Leave a comment

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Join me today at Grace Table?  My words and I are over there telling a love story. A story of love.

“It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was love very soon after we wrapped our heads and hearts around one important realization. Beauty lay behind the fringes of the dirt. Redemption could be found on the frayed edges of the brokenness. Restoration would require patience and sweat equity. It would demand waiting. And it would call for trust. But it would return much more than it could ever have asked of us.

This was a transaction of the heart. And we would be reminded that love wins every time.

Thank you, as always, for joining me at the table….(Click the link to read “The Greatest Of These Is Love”.)

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When You Want To Start Over From The Very Beginning

~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 5 Comments

I have a young friend who is brave and beautiful. I’ve known her for a long forever. Since she was a child, Bennett has been a sweet part of my world. Gentle and kind, soft-spoken and a lover of beauty. These words come rest on my lips, as I begin to paint her with my words, speaking honestly about the young woman I know, respect and love. I word paint her through the lens of my poetry. And I paint her artist. Lover of all that is waiting to be discovered.

Now I  sit with different  words. I have found joy anew as I watch her enter the world of a painter. Bennett has bravely left a career which required four years of college and  a Master’s Degree. And now I call her bold. And passionate.

This fresh young artist is filled with passion and bravery as she pursues life as a painter. Embracing the gifts she was given long ago with enthusiasm. With energy. And with whimsy in every stroke.

As a child she loved painting and making art. Her determination shows up in brilliant shades of life. On every canvas, she pours her soulful interpretation of the world. Haiti, Aspen, Miami, The South Carolina Lowcountry and Charleston – each of these places influence and inspire her art. Each of Bennett Brown Sizemore’s paintings is a decidedly unique snapshot of the world. Bennett’s style is unique and remarkable and a bit undefinable. It is at once simple and elegant, teeming with an exuberance which is palpable. The world seen through her paintbrush is brilliant and whimsical. Hope-filled and radiant. Her passion was curled up in the cocoon of her heart. Waiting to be unfurled. Fully. For us to savor and enjoy.

What a gift she is using. What a gift she gives. To Him be the glory.

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So now I want to start over and begin again with my own art. With my writing. But I cannot really go back to my first day when I stepped into my own passion as a writer.

But in His mercy we can begin again, infused with re-newed passion. Restored to our art. Regenerated in our spirits to see the world, though there is pain and grief, in all its beauty. And to marvel. With a re-commitment to press on as co-creators with Artist God. To live into the privilege we’ve been given. To paint the world or to paint our experience in a way which allows us to live any moment a glorious second time.

As artists we process the world through our medium. We show and tell others where the beauty lies. And point to the extra-ordinary ordinary in a world filled with endless amounts of simple beauty. Extravagant beauty.

Who can we encourage today. Who can we cheer on and say “Go Make Your Art”.

Today I choose Bennett because Bennett Sizemore  inspires me. And in some small way or a decidedly significant way, I am inspired anew to create and to press on with my art. And to marvel at the beauty, wonder and colorful whimsy of the world through Bennett Sizemore’s lens.

Bennett Sizemore Art