The ache of sorrow in my breast,
The hurt that gnaws deep at my chest.
I must confess...
I feel like nothing is made right
Oh where, oh where is the light
Here I stand again it seems
Taken back to horrors dreams
O death you wheeled your power free
Yet I look for life found upon the Tree
Still my heart will feel the sting
And miss our loved ones set free to sing
Our lives entwined there too short a duration,
I trust, will one day be rejoined in joyous celebration!
All tears and fears will be washed away,
As we sit together on that happy day.
Yet now as I say my last goodbyes
I must confess...I still feel....
The ache of sorrow in my breast,
The hurt that gnaws deep at my chest.
--- Isaac Ring, 2010
I wrote this poem earlier this year when I heard the news of my Aunt Penny's passing after a hard fought battle with cancer. It still captures a good portion of my emotion regarding the death of my older brother Thaddeus and my Uncle Jonathan in separate instances on this anniversary September 11 date. (Thad in 1996 as a result of mental illness and Jonathan in the destruction of NYC Twin Towers in 2001)
As each year passes, time has given me the blessing of mellowing the hurt and seeing their lives though the prism of the joys and sorrows of knowing and loving them in life and death.
I still struggle with belief and faith and I can't say that I know for certain I'll see them again as much as I want to.
This year I decided to honor Thaddeus by permanently carrying on my arm an art piece that reminds me of happier childhood days him and I spent together as roommates and close friends & brothers... before his struggle with mental illness that ended up taking his life.
The lion with the scrolls was one of his first skateboard designs when he was in his early teens. Thad had an enthusiasm & passion for life that was contagious when one got to know him. The message in the scroll was his perspective on his faith in God and his approach to life.
The message still speaks to me and challenges me to embrace life and live life to the fullest in all its messiness!
On this anniversary I'm reminded to cherish and learn from each of the relationships I have/had in my life, and to keep connected to loved ones.
Living a full and complete life is messy with heartache & joy, thirst & satisfaction and disappointment & fulfillment, as we connect with each other and those around us in this quest of life.
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3 comments:
Thank you, Isaac. A really moving and well expressed post, and a powerful poem.
Thank you, Isaac. A really moving and well expressed post, and a powerful poem.
Hey Bro,
I really enjoyed reading your poem and your thoughts. This is truly a significant day for our family and I appreciate your deeply thoughtful embracing of life, with all of its pain and joy. Thanks.
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