This article was updated on 29 August, 2022. It discusses Catherine Arcolio’s micro poems about grief.
Catherine Arcolio, the artist-poet behind this American project focuses on images from nature in her extraordinarily beautiful patch – her back yard in country North America.
Her work resonates with the mission of Good Grief! because her eye catching photos capture not just the power of beauty, but the fragility of that beauty, and in doing so remind us of the impermanence of life.
Here are words from Catherine, about her work, including her micro poems about grief.
“I lost many, many loved ones in the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s and 90’s. It’s hard to navigate grief in a death denying culture. I’ve found a lot of solace in the work of Stephen Jenkinson and Mark Nepo.”
“The micro poem that accompanies the image really says what I know about grief…”
Joy and Sorrow
the dark and light
that passes through
our blue days
“I imagine life as a feast banquet and I am seated between joy and sorrow. Part of the work of life is learning how to converse and to hold hands with both of them at the same time.”
“I learned during the AIDS epidemic that death can be abrupt or lingering, full of suffering, full of peace. It impressed upon me the importance of being present – NOW in this very moment. I also learned that grieving is different from the grief that is carried long after the loss. I wrote the poem below to try and capture what active grieving felt like during the first difficult death.”
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, Catherine.
Towards Turbulent Waters
In the treacherous waters of mourning
I slip from my raft of comforting memories and
scrape along the rough edges of departure
Weighted by
recantings and revisionism
nearly drowning in anger
treading the white waters of survival
daring the dead man’s float as
breaststroke and butterfly elude me
when the raft reappears
I cling
to it
push it downstream
towards turbulent waters
into the breakers
between rocks and hard places
into the shallows of should
onto my reef of guilt
I push and ride
until I am mercifully parallel
to the shore of forgiveness
Beyond the grip of the undertow
I mark my place on the horizon
and await the change in current
that will
allow me
to return.
Leaf and Twig where observation and imagination meet nature in poetry leafandtwig.wordpress.com
Good Grief!’s mission is to share understanding about death and grief. For more reading go to:
https://good-grief.com.au/biographies-a-legacy-and-also-a-therapy-for-the-dying/