Beauty Takes Me by the Heart


The weight of sorrow wraps
around my feet as I pace 
the shifting shadows of Wednesday.

I wander the house with my palms
open trying to feel your presence
in rooms where I heard you laugh.

My pacing leads me to the memory
of the day you tattooed your wrist
with the word “free.”

In a brick and glass tattoo shop
in Tulsa you inked light from
your spirit onto your skin
to proclaim your power.

Guided to your framed smile
beauty takes me by the heart and 
comforts me with images of you
walking in a garden where pain 
no longer chases you.

Filled with a rush of the unexplainable
I hear you in my spirit sing, “It is well with my soul.”

Tearfully I look toward a window and watch
tree limbs pregnant with spring buds brush
blue sky with hallelujahs and lift a silent amen. 

  
©Susie Clevenger 2025


Below is a song Dawn wrote and sang. 
Touch and Go



Comments

  1. MaryMarch 13, 2025 at 8:13 AM

    Beautiful poem, Susie. I can feel your sorrow, feel you searching through your memories.
    " images of you
    walking in a garden where pain
    no longer chases you " is so very poignant,
    open, honest, heartbreakingly real.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sherry Blue SkyMarch 13, 2025 at 9:01 AM

    So moving, Susie - the love that sees and misses her beauty, the love that knows she is now free of pain. Losing a child is just the worst possible thing. Dawn was such a radiant being. Still shining in our memories.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sumana RoyMarch 13, 2025 at 9:19 AM

    A very moving and beautiful poem Susie. Deepest, heartbreaking sorrow sublimated into calm prayers lifts my soul. I also love the lines Mary quotes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jennifer WagnerMarch 13, 2025 at 12:58 PM

    Oh my goodness, Susie. This moved me to goosebumps and tears. So beautifully put as only a poetic mother can.

    ReplyDelete

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