My posts are typically about running or some other random idea that pops in my head and I feel compelled to write about.  Today I want to do something different; something not so fun.  I want to share a poem that I composed last fall.  Oh, get up off the ground and quit laughing!  I realize I am hardly a poet, but after my nephew died, I was literally driving home from Walmart, and these words came to me.  How many people can say they feel inspired after going to Walmart?

Well, I got home, put away the goods, and grabbed the computer.  This poem just spilled out.  I don’t really know if it is any good or not, or if it will even make sense to anyone.  It is simply how I was feeling, and I needed to try to put it into words.  Here it goes…

That Moment…

Joyce Stath

It only takes a moment in time

for a heart to be broken, for a life to change.

The innocent ringing of the phone,

the call no one expects.

Ma’am…I’m so sorry…

Sir…I’m so sorry…

It’s your son, your daughter,

your father, your mother,

your husband, your wife.

Those words.

 Words we never forget.

Words that devastate.

At first, they seep ever so gently into our soul,

and then, they rip relentlessly into our very being.

It isn’t true.  It can’t possibly be so.  You’re mistaken.

But I just…

You’re wrong.  No!

Tears spill over, soft shudders become breathless sobs.

How….why?

What do I do?  Where should I go?

Dear God, why?

Not very uplifting, but did it remind you of anything?  As I wrote, I was thinking back to those phone calls, those words, that changed my life.  The first was the call telling my grandmother that my father had died.  I had spent the night with her, and was nearby when she received the news.  I will never forget her words to me, “Honey, lay across the bed and cry.  Your daddy just died.”  I also thought about the call from my sister telling me that her son had died.  The tone – weakness actually – in her voice still haunts me.  I, in turn, had to make that dreadful call to my niece that her brother had died.  Knowing she would never forget my words to her, I tried to carefully word the news, but really, is there a less painful way to tell someone a loved one has died?

We never know when we might receive a life-altering phone call.  Tell those you love that you love them.  Give them a hug when you say good-bye.  Take advantage of every breath that God blesses you with – and don’t sweat the small stuff!

Peace and Love…