SEPARATION

SEPARATION

the dull ache of your leaving 

still lingers, 

the darkness surrounds me 

like a cloak

my heart bleeds, still an open wound

after all this time

I wrap the days around me

like a binding sheet

I shut out the feelings

my heart is heavy 

my days long 

I try to chase away the memories

of happier times

they draw bitter tears

and useless regrets

I try to accept the way

of life, not really understanding

why things must be this way

Janice Kuykendall  (October 9, 2014)

Leaving

A Mother's Lament

To each of my children

I gave you a little piece of my heart

And now I wish I had given all

So that I would not feel this aching pain

of final separation so searing

that it takes my breath away

This pain that all mothers must face

when their children sprout wings

and fly away, excited for the next chapter

in their lives, while we, with open wounds

must bind them and pretend

that everything is fine 

while our hearts are breaking

I know that I must accept

what I cannot change 

the tender, sweet days of mothering

are behind me and I cry

because I wasn't ready

Janice Kuykendall  07/07/14

LONELINESS

sometimes in my loneliness I cry

and wonder softly why

no one loves me or cares

if my heart is full of despair

then I see only darkness

stretching out like an abyss

and I think it would be kind

to my heart and mind

to be like smoke blown by the wind

if this heart I cannot mend

Janice Kuykendall - 2014