Silence
By Susan Dunn
December 2000
For G.H. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SILENCE
Under all speech that is good for anything, There lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; Speech is shallow as Time. -- Thomas Carlyle |
Finally I got around to reading a book about grief someone sent me,
Its been lying around here for a year now.
Its about losing a child, by 2 authors who each lost a child,
And about 10,000 other parents who have lost children,
And its just not what I need right now.
I guess Im still not ready
For the death of my son to become a statistic,
To be lopped in with everyone elses.
In this life of mine, which has been difficult at times,
Something must be sacred,
And if the death of my son cant be sacred,
Then what can?
My son, the Jewel in My Crown,
My comfort in the past, and my hope for the future.
I read in this book some of the things Ive said
Apparently everyone feels like a wounded animal in a corner,
Apparently for everyone the pain is searing and physical
And crushes your chest and hits you in the stomach,
So, I guess its just more of the same old thing?
Whatever.
But its not,
And in this I know Im not unique either,
Its not.
Because it was Chester
And Chester was special,
And Chester was mine.
Thank you for your silence when you listened,
For honoring, on my behalf,
The inadequacy of my words to convey my feelings,
And perhaps yours to respond,
In this situation,
So special, so terribly special, to me.
It was the times when you were silent
That I felt your presence the most
And it is your silence that I will always remember.