Gentle wisdom comes from learning.
Oh we learn more each day.
When people ask how we cope with our loss,
our wisdom echoes in what we say.

It wasn't very long ago when
I heard one woman say to another.
"How do you cope with such a tragic loss?"
Tears then stained the cheeks of the mother.

At first she didn't answer the woman.
For she stood there and cried.
"Oh I know this is killing you," the woman said,
"but in time the pain will subside."

The mother didn't respond to the question.
She wanted to scream out in grief.
Time could never heal her broken heart.
Time can never give her relief.

Yes, we learn from the wisdom of others;
In time the pain will surely heal.
But to this day the pain hasn't gone away.
So how can anyone know how she feels?

Once a mother heard the words
"Your child is in a better place."
Is this wisdom to make her feel better?
Will it wipe tears from her face?

Words of emotion shared from others
make a mother ask the reason why?
When someone tells a heartbroken mother ...
"Oh your child wouldn't want you to cry."

Then, there's the mother who lost her baby
Before the child took it's first breath.
There is a void in the heart of any mother
when her child's eyes close in death.

And, when someone foolishly tells her,
"Oh it's much better this way."
That mother's heart is broken all over again.
By the words of "wisdom" that others say.

How many times must that mother
feel death's excruciating pain?
Words to ease her misery and heartaches
should be words easy to explain.

Yes, a mother who feels the empty arms
has a heavy burden to bear.
But what she learns through her tears ...
Gentle wisdom allows her to share.
Original poetry © Kay Des'Ormeaux
from "Whispers from Heaven"