You Lived

“maybe death
isn’t darkness, after all,
but so much light
wrapping itself around us–”
― Mary Oliver, Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays

You were
full of despair
the night
you crashed
your car.
Your lover
had just died
and you couldn’t
bear the thought
of going on
another minute
without him.
You wanted
to die too.
But you lived.
You lived to
show us what
beauty looks like
from the inside
with soft spoken
words
and a smile
that lights up a room.
I know that
many times
you wish
you’d died
because you
were left
with so much
grief
and your form
was changed
and bent
and hurt.
But you lived.
You lived to show
us how to occupy
deep gratitude,
even through the pain.
You remind
us each day
what beauty
looks like from
the inside
with soft spoken
words
and eyes
that have known
great sorrow,
yet they still shine!