As many of you know, Jamie had a very serious back surgery in February, just before all this COVID-19 craziness started. She has suffered from severe back and nerve pain since 2003. Walking with her through the doctors, chiropractors, sleepless nights, and all the other pain and questions has been a humbling and harrowing experience.
I’ve recently rediscovered my love of poetry. In my 20s I was an English and Art major. I spent most of my days expressing what I was discovering and experiencing. I love poetry because it has the ability to cut through the crap, and put the realities of pain and hope, grief and beauty right next to each other, the way we really experience them.
CONSTANT COMPANION
Steve Wiechman ©2020
Pain,
Her constant companion,
Demands her walk the cliff
Rarely released from the
Dangerously magnificent view.
They walk mostly out of my reach
Torturing my soul,
Shrinking me.
Strength
I see in her,
A stubborn light
Lit long ago by her first love.
She crookedly walks with pain
Along the precipice
Wincing,
Muscles contorted,
Bones rubbing to rock,
Tears cutting canyons from
Her eyes to her chin.
It’s difficult to tell
Who is leading who.
Darkness
Rolls in like a storm and
Swallows us.
I can’t see her.
I only hear the
Sobs, and the
Cries, and the
Shriek of being
Pushed over the edge.
I’m helpless.
I can’t
See where she is.
I can’t
Reach her.
I cry out
To my God, my God.
To our God, our God.
But all I hear is
Rain, and
Tears, and
Pain ranting to my bride
All
The way
Down.
Light
Blinds me more
Than the foggy storm.
I blink to adjust
And catch the
Vision of
Three figures walking the cliff.
Their laughter
Tickles
My
Ears
Like a butterfly
Flitting from
Flower to
Flower.
I rub my eyes
To get the shadows out.
My feet
Awaken and unearth,
Blown toward the party by the
Breath of the Light.
He turns,
Our first love,
Locks gaze with me,
Extends his hand and
Throws back his head in a
Boisterous laugh;
And the four us
Dance into the
Dangerously magnificent day.
Breathe Life Ministries 