consolations

I wish I could be there to give you a very big hug.
—James

It is easy to imagine the many layers of melancholy. I hope you find comfort in the tiniest things.
—Marianne

I sometimes feel that the way we parent is a mix of a lot of things, including both what we thought our parents got right, and what left room for improvement. If that is true, I know that your Mom saw the very best of herself in you, and the great Mom that you are to her grandson.
—Charlie

I'm so sorry for your loss. Thanks for allowing the rest of us to share in your journey—you shared in your mom's, we share in yours, and the cosmos of swirling spirits and glittery bangs touches us all.
May your happy memories of your mom buoy you in the days and weeks ahead.
—Kristi

my mother died 2 years ago and a light went out of her children's worlds that day
that next may on my brother's birthday and mother's day my niece gave birth to a baby girl named marian after my mother
and it is quite clear to all of us that my mother's spirit resides in this child without doubt
and life goes on . . . 
—Mimi

Just remember that, even long after the pain of the separation is gone, the beautiful and happy memories will still be there and remain with you forever.
—Stefano

The only perspective I can offer, having lost my mom three years ago this December, is that many Moms Never Leave.  The touches and hugs, the smiles, the laugh, the smells, the soothing sound of a voice talking, humming, whispering ... I experience those things all the time. I miss her physical presence but that really was only a fraction of her being.

And I do believe there is a very nifty group of stars out there in the cosmos ‘living’ it up. And we are lucky enough to get to wish on them and feel all that energy and brightness and promise they add to the night sky. I hope this can provide an antidote for your grief—it is just never easy to lose your mom.
—Catherine

Am very sorry for the loss of your mom—and thankful to have been able to read your warm and thoughtful posts about her over the years.
—Steven

A bit of grace comes to us all when we can see the perfection of another imperfect being.  Loss and love are so connected in this world.  I’ll cherish the thought of your mom as an angel up.
—Madeleine

Stories of the Black Ware Seed Jar

I have been through fire.
My form is fixed,
smoke-dark,
patterns of wing,
beak, thunder, and eye,
the storm of birds
chasing each other,
energies of life.
My small mouth
is starred,
cool and dry,
remembering
seeds
of potential.
Burnished
with stone,
I recall patience
through winter,
through wind,
through the rains
that fill the arroyos.
I absorb, hold
what stirs, rattles
like prayers,
like snakes,
awaiting release until
they pour my gifts
into the field again,
what you imagine—
where I began,
seed after seed,
fire becoming
field,
blossom and grain
and all of the voices
therein.

—Carter McKenzie

Photo by Stacey Sampson