Tragic Gifts

I’ve had a few tragedies in my life

And they suck, plain and simple.

You have to hang on hard just to get by,

But even in times of tragedy…

I have managed to spy a clown’s dimple.

I smiled in spite of myself.

Humor is medicine.

When my brother went, I cried.

I gulped for air, tried hard but did not improve.

Fear and grief can steal you blind.

Still, I laughed, “Karl, If you wanted to leave

Georgia so bad why didn’t you just move?

We laughed through our tears.

Humor helps even with tears.

When my son had a pound of steel

Surgically installed in his broken leg

When he came home from ICU, his friends and family

Teased him while he smiled and chuckled,

“You just want to buzz the detectors, eh?”

I wore that strong mom frozen grin.

I still had to tell him about his uncle.

And as sad and wrung out and uncertain

As I am about the future of my dad in law

With Alzheimer’s ready to steal him

I can still see the humor, and sometimes he can

And his smile has the charm that once I often saw.

And I smile back at him.

And forget for a moment.

I’ve long thought and think even more so now

That God gives us grief like a hit in the night

So that when things become humdrum, lacking the wow,

We go low and bemused and forsaken a while.

Then we find our way back to the light, oh, so bright.

And soak up the rays and

Reach out for each other again.

The soldier in the battle field or in his tent reclined,

The cook in the dining tent,

The medic behind the lines,

The sergeant who must give bad news,

The colonel who must lead and inspire and send

His men into the fire...

They crack jokes to cope to comprehend.

The wilted, distant look on the woman who pushes a cart

From corner to corner and down the block

And the man who sits in his wheel chair

On that same corner, like they’re friends

Meeting on a fine day for a walk.

And most of us turn and think quickly of …

Well, I can’t see the humor there but I bet they do when they

Look at us trying not to see them.

I don’t know what is in store for us.

Nor can I see tomorrow for you.

I can say I have witnessed, every time,  incredible love

And support and camaraderie extraordinaire.

One of His greatest gifts is compassion for who?

For me and I can pass it along

To him and she can offer it to someone else

Like her, or him or them or you.

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Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts and prayers.  Many blessings to you.

Kathy Adams