Poetry & Quotes   

A collection of words to comfort, uplift and inspire.

"What the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose."
—Henry Ward Beecher

"Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight."
—Rossiter Worthington Raymond

"Look for the rainbow that gracious thing, made up of tears and light."
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

This world is not conclusion; A sequel stands beyond, Invisible, as music, But positive, as sound.
—Emily Dickinson

NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER

I give you this one thought to keep -
I am with you still - I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.

The Library

His library was like no other,
Each book has its own unique and different cover.

All the books are written with His own hand.
With all of them completed before time began.

He allows us to take these books out on loan,
And He wants us to treat them like our own.

He invites us to read the books and learn what each page says.
So we can keep the message in our hearts all our days.

We checked out the book named Lisa filled with hope and love,
Knowing that each and every word was written from above.

We read her book with great interest and care,
In the margins we wrote as much as we would dare.

But the most important words could not be changed one bit,
Because they came directly from His wisdom and wit.

We loved the book so dearly and thought it was our own,
We even let others read it and take it far from home.

Then came the news the book was due back in its original home,
We said this isn’t true as this book is our own.

We cried, we yelled, we tried to bargain so intense,
We said to take it back in 29 short years made no sense.

The owner stood His ground and would not allow any extra time,
He said we didn’t pay attention to the words for the book is still mine.

The book was gone as quickly as it came,
And left us empty and calling out His name.

We tried to make some sense or logic to this book’s short life,
We remembered all the good things and tried to forget the strife.

Some day soon, when our own books are called back due,
We will see Lisa and the author and will know His words are true.

Until that day we will try to do His will,
And trust we will meet all our families on the other side of the hill.

~by Don Richardson, father of Lisa Richardson

Just For Today

Just for today, I will try to live through the next 24 hours...not expecting to get over my child's death, but learning to live with it...one day at a time Just for today, I'll remember my child's life, not his death, and bask in the comfort of the treasured days and moments we shared.

Just for today, I will forgive all the family and friends who didn't help or comfort me the way I needed them to. They truly did not know how.

Just for today, I will reach out to comfort a relative or friend of my child. For they are hurting too, and perhaps we can help each other.

Just for today, I will free myself from my self-inflicted burden of guilt. For deep in my heart, I know if there was anything in this world I could have done to save my child from death, I would have done it.

Just for today, I will honor my child's memory by doing something with another child, be it my own, or someone else's, because I know that would make my child proud.

Just for today, I will offer my hand in friendship to other bereaved parents, fo I DO know how they feel.

Just for today, I will smile...no matter how much I hurt on the inside...for maybe if I smile a little, my heart will soften and I will begin to heal.

Just for today, I will allow myself to be happy and enjoy myself, for I know I am not deserting my child by moving on.

Just for today, I will accept that I did NOT die when my child did. My life did go on and I am the ONLY one who can make that life worthwhile again.

~by V.Tushingham, taken from the Bereaved Parents of the USA Tampa Bay Newsletter, Sept 2001.