Gliding Beauty
for Umahmad
~^~
Belladonna,
my gliding beauty,
you walked an inch off the ground.
You could enter a silent room
without making a sound.
In a market of black-robed women,
you were the first to be found.
We walked as one,
and when we knelt
with our heads touching the ground,
you pressed your shoulder into mine
in perfect unison
as we bent down.
I bless your grace and your profile
your blood mixed in Iran,
those two Iraqi pools
that peeked out from clasped hands.
We were just so new, two women who loved
that we stopped our own heartbeats
contemplating
the Above.
2002 Jordan
~*~
Glide Away
for Umahmad
I trace circles on your arm to the chanted prayers of the Quran.
Every twisting curve I make is a switchback in our extraordinary timeline..our history written by a weaver,
a true believer,
and you believed,
that all that was laid upon your back,
you could shoulder,
and not only support it, but walk carrying it proudly.
Outside is Texas not Iraq,
but you sigh peacefully and ask for mercy,
god’s mercy after a lifetime of struggle…
the short straw in the deck of life…
even your lifeline stops half way down your palm.
My friend,
who else in my life could have showed me the hidden gift of loving another,
as I learned to love you?
From your lips I learned a language a culture, a truth.
Your children were your wealth and your reason to live, to seek, to dream, to cross borders so that they might have a better chance..a better role in Life’s play.
And now today I watch you prepare to set sail, your closed eyes opening slowly like spinnakers unfolding, and you look upwards, the purified face of one who is being carried to the other shore, and your last breath is the wind that finally fills them and they snap and billow, and there you go…you depart and glide away.
July 3, 2012
Community Memorial Hospice
Ft.Worth Texas
*My greatest muse, my deepest friendship, a truth more rare than fiction.
Gone From My Sight
by Henry Van Dyke
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone”
Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me — not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,”
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”
And that is dying…
Digital Rabbit Hole 
So very lovely, Karima.
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Hugs Dale..thank you for your support though out
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May the Great Father of us all, by whatever name we call him, Bless us all. Here, today, tomorrow. For always. Bless all who love deeply. Bless all who never find true love. Bless ones who can connect so deeply in this life that being separated causes rain to fall from eyes on a sunny day. Bless all ones who feel hurt so badly life seems useless. Bless ones who do find the great joy in the everyday and pass that joy to all so rest of us can feel that…know that. Bless all ones who feel deeply enough to spread that wisdom and tenderness to everyone in their path. No matter the challenge. No matter the pain. No matter the sense of loss. Bless all who keep forging forward despite great challenges of life. Bless Karima and her friends and families for their great endurance. May the great Godforce bless us all. Peace.
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Awwww Tube such a touching beautiful prayer..I will share it with her family too.In Arabic we say “Thank god for everything” which means even hard moments like this.Bless you Tube for being such a loving, spiritual, and loyal friend to me..
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I couldn’t read them without crying, Karima. I can’t begin to imagine the loss you and the children must feel. I’ll pray now for you, as she is safe in God’s hands. Bless you for taking on such a sorrowful task for the love of your friend. You are the bravest woman I know. She has found peace. It is your turn now to seek peace and closure, and spread the love she left behind.
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Thank you Shesa for caring, for being there when I was feeling overwhelmed.I feel I was just given an incredible gift and I am both humbled and feel very blessed. I promise to seek a bit of peace for myself…Thank you my loving friend for everything you did…even just by listening to me….big big hugs of gratitude
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Karima, I’m so sorry to hear about Uma’s passing. Know that you were and still are a positive light in her journey. It is a blessing that you were able to share her last moments with her, and now she is free of the struggles that this world put on her.
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Thank you Scottius…I feel I was the one who was blessed being able to share this sad but very much a part of life experience..with her beautiful family…and with her..Long history between us… maybe I can actually write the whole story sometime….
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Es gibt Momente im Leben,
da steht die Welt für einen Augenblick still.
Und wenn sie sich dann weiterdreht,
ist nichts mehr wie es war.
There are moments in life,
the world stands still for a moment.
And if she then continues to turn,
nothing is, as it was before.
Gone
No one is gone, as long as you preserve the treasure. In your heart and in your soul. The treasure of memories, of good times and dark hours, laughter, tears, a sunbeam, talking about trivial and all the small and great moments you had together in this short time. Gone.
After a time it is like a picture that fades away So preserve the treasure in your heart and in your soul, don’t let it fade away and you will never be alone
My thoughts are with you
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Nat, beautiful words and yes very true..never gone as long as we remember, and keep their image fresh and vibrant, even when they are no longer with us..Thank you for caring and for being there in this last month…Hugs you tight
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Remember that every time she woke up, she asked you for forgiveness. Cause she loves you.!
We all love you mom. 🙂
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Awwww Kadoori… how proud you made your mother and how proud you make me..It was a gift to spend this time with you all..I love you all too..and now you are stuck with me…because i promised her I would always look after you..Hugs you so tight
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Bless you and the family. Umahmad’s suffering is gone and her memory is purified. Carry her with joy.
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Thank you for your blessings for us all Steve..I am carrying her and I feel very privileged to be able to too
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Well, Karima… i am speechless… no words can express what i feel for you and for Umahmed and for her loving family. Your words are so beautiful, your heart runs so much deeper because of the love you shared with this precious soul, who is now free… in Glory and Grace…. Blessings abound.
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Thank you my sweet friend…What a moment!! I think no words can ever express it but I see it and replay it like an icon in my mind..Yes she is so free now….hugs you tight Jan..I know you know…
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Karima..I am so sorry. I know how much you loved her. I am happy that you were able to be with her until the end.
Earth, Teach Me
Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.
– An Ute Prayer
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Thank you Hoyt for your words and your beautiful prayer..may we all learn all that Earth teaches..The fact I was there at her moment of departure will always be seen as one of the greatest gifts I have received…I am so thankful for that
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One lives and another dies
The living ask the how and whys
The other, now must wonder too
Again, where to go and what to do.
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Thank you RAG for your support and your friendship in all this…
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Reaches out and places a steadying hand on your shoulder – she died with grace and in peace sis, I know you and the children take comfort in that.
Love you,
Maria xxx
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Oh yes sis..we do..grace, elegance and peace..hugs thank you for your close support always
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Two angels. One in heaven. One on earth. Still and forever hand-in-hand. My heart is with you and your family during this time of transition. Love and peace.
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Thank you so much my poetic brother…yes you know how deep this flowed inside and how long…love and peace always to you too
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Dearest Kari, the emotion seeps through each word – I hold you tight to my heart in this very difficult time.
If I
could
cup time in my
hands, pausing the moon, holding the
hour in a finite moment of crepuscular light:
neither day; nor night. Paused, reversing parting; inversing death.
The hour ablaze in achromatic nimbus, the old world; and the new,
still and moving. Time conquered. Nothing extinguished, nor forgotten.
And the end and the beginning
were always there, before
the beginning
and after
the end.
Suze.
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Aww Suze my sweet poetic sis..thank you for your words and your beautiful poem Cupped Time…how perfect for these moments…ahhh if only…big hugs to you..
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You shared an incredible journey throughout her life on earth, and I know you carry with you a fountain of memories. Umahmad never knew how many people around the world in your circle were pulling for her victory; how many of us were aware of her fight, her plight and her outward demise. She did ‘win’ in the end by accomplishing a very worthy goal for her family before her true spirit was overcome. Divine it is that you could be there for each of them. A piece of her lives forevermore through each of you (((hugs))).
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Aww Diz..I just saw I never answered this beautiful comment more than a year ago…I guess I was a bit distraught…but thank you for your words and your loving support Sis…always. Yes you knew…how much she meant to me….and how much this gift of being there with her, is cherished by me too. Hugs you tight….
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such a special bond, this poetry is such a beautiful tribute 🙂
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Thank you so much Kate for coming here, 4 years ago, and your wise comment helps me remember a day I will never forget:) Yes, we had a special connection right from the beginning..Alhamdulillah..another blessing in itself
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she lives on in your heart, know that she still watches over you 🙂
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