Good morning…

He and his wife watched Manchester by the Sea and they found themselves discussing it at length that night and into the next day. Later, he wrote me: “For some reason I’m reminded of a poem by W. H. Auden that so stunningly expresses the terrible stage of grief where one is inconsolable. It’s Funeral Blues, which I may have shared with you before. If not, I hope you check it out when you have a minute.”

So I checked out his recommendation and I was deeply moved. Now I share the poem with you. Raw and real. Empty and excruciating. Touching and terribly true. Sometimes we are inconsolable, life and love feel forever gone.

******

Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

******

Over time, clocks will begin to tick again and the telephone will ring, renewing relationships. The dog’s bark will sound again like lively love. The piano and drum will sing joy once more. The stars will return, the moon and sun will too. Healing will happen but not today.

Today we see the scribble in the sky, “He is Dead.” Our north and our south, our east and west, all are erased, completely erased. Until we feel the darkness of every star extinguished, packed up with the moon, dismantled with the sun, we will not notice the first flicker of new life. When we allow ourselves to experience deeply “Nothing now can ever come to any good,” we begin the honest process of slowly healing whole.

When I was beleaguered and bitter,
totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant…
in your very presence.
I’m still in your presence,
but you’ve taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me,
and then you bless me (Psalm 73:21-24, MSG).

…Sue…