I lost my dear brother to cancer a few months ago. He had been living in New York with his partner of 7 years, and while oceans apart we have supported each other in our grief. Recently she shared a poem she wrote in her bereavement group and it so touched me, I asked if I might post it here on my blog. Although it takes many forms, grief is a universal language.
Tea for Two
When are you coming home?
You’ve been away too long
I’ve pruned and polished every corner
Sifting and sorting the useful from the never used and badly worn
Making more space, allowing more light
You’d be proud how I managed to work the DAC
See – I was watching when you thought I couldn’t care less about
Your Audio System
True – I’d rather be outside in the sun, running through the rain
It makes me feel alive
But tea for 2 at 4 was our place in the middle
You’d ask ‘shall I put on the kettle?’ which would always make me laugh
Just make the tea, please and pour it into the matching cups
Blue calm elephant for you
Black hyper elephant for me
We’d sit silently, serene and content
Nowhere to go, nothing to do, a simple perfect moment that wove us together
It’s 4pm now and I’ve put on the kettle
One cup sits waiting rather than two
When are you coming home?
Diane Cimine – 2013
Carte Blanche by Amelia Curzon 
A beautiful poem, Diane :’) Losing a loved one is never harder than when going through the rituals of daily life that were always shared and now must be faced alone. May your 2013 be filled with wonderful memories and sunlight.
Thank you so much, Diane, for writing this beautiful poem and allowing me to post it here on my blog. It is a truly wonderful tribute to William and written with so much love . As I am sure you know, he would have adored it and taken such heart in the fact you have been so brave in these times. – Amelia xo
so much goes unsaid during the ‘living’ years and my only hope is those who leave this earth still hear the murmurings of our heart xo Diane
Dear Diane and Amanda: What a lovely poem, a wonderful tribute to your loved one. It touched my heart and helped to revive some special times from my own past. I have lost two brothers and a sister, who were in their 30s and 40s when they left us. I miss them terribly and wish I had been more diligent in letting each of them know how special they were and how much they meant to me. Yes, we are all so different, with our own gifts and quirks. Those are the things that make us all special! That’s what makes our own world so fun and interesting. I have some new special memories of my own to make and must get busy. Thanks for jogging the memory of my own dear ones with your heartfelt poem. How wonderful that you have those Tea Time Memories. How special that you shared them with me. Love, thoughts and prayers to you and Amanda in your loss, Bette
I have found committing thoughts and feelings to paper is immensely healing and intend to continue… you are so right about the unique ‘gifts and quirks’ of each person. Amazing how we are the same and different simultaneously. I’ve come to peace with knowing there will never be another William, though feel blessed to have known and shared a life with him, even for a short while.
Thank you so much for dropping by, Bette, and for your extremely kind words – Amelia
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What a lovely poem….so heartfelt and brimming with compassion. How wonderful that you can put your feelings into such touching prose. It is beautifully expressed and written, Diane.
My thoughts are with you, this Valentine’s Day and what an appropriate day, to post this lovely poem. I hope that you continue to write poetry, you are obviously a very creative, talented and sensitive woman. I am so very sorry for the immense loss of your partner and to you Amelia, for the immeasurable loss of your brother William.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful poetry with everyone.
Jane Whiteoak
Thank you for your kind words! It’s the small moments we miss most when our loved ones pass, and this awareness allows us to savor those same small moments we family and friends here in the present… lessons learned.
How very kind, Jane. Thank you so much for coming over and taking the time to share your beautiful thoughts with us – Amelia
How beautiful. My heart goes out to you, and may you find some solace in your wonderful writing.
thank you so much! Writing indeed provides a vessel where I can lovingly plant my feelings and be healed.
Thank you for dropping by, Iza. And thank you moreover for taking the time to leave your kind message here – Amelia
Reblogged this on Curzon.
Oh my, this brought me to tears and that’s saying a lot being that I’m a Nurse Practitioner and do a lot of pro bono with dying patients. It isn’t easy to write about someone who’s died, especially with such poetic beauty and grace and so this is my applaud to your lovely poetry as a writer and also to your lovely heart that is clearly shining through. Thank you for posting this, Amelia and thank you Diane. On this Valentine’s Day I shall think of you both and the love that has been expressed here. Paulette
what beautiful thoughts… thank you! I am actually writing a book about my caretaking experience (William passed at home in hospice care, following a horrific struggle with cancer) – less from the practical viewpoint and more from the visceral. Guiding a loved one to the other side is a profound task, eliciting an enormous spectrum of feelings, yet it is also a privilege, something worth embracing and preparing for.
Privilege is exactly what it is, and all the rest of what you so eloquently expressed. I’ll look forward to the completion of your book. Blessings to you and Amelia. Paulette
Thank for your kind and heartfelt words, Paulette. They are deeply appreciated and will always be treasured – Amelia