July 18, 2015 by dmcglauflin
Two osprey chicks hatch and grow
connected to millions by webcam
webcam and the archetype of motherhood
One cloudless day in plain view
a hungry eagle swooped and grabbed
twice, leaving an empty nest
We sat dazed at our computers
betrayed by the intimate view
faced with our virtual helplessness
A keening flood of poignant posts
some angry, some philosophical
some calling it all out of proportion
Worldwide grief for two chicks
for two chicks and for the loss of every child
taken from its parents too suddenly and too soon
__________________________
Copyright Deborah McGlauflin, July 2015. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged death in nature, death of a child, sympathy on social media, webcam view of death, worldwide grief | Leave a Comment »
July 4, 2015 by dmcglauflin
All that remains now is your ragged breath
harbinger of fast approaching death
I breathe with you having made my peace
sending love and the gift of release
taking in your lingering hurts and strife
ease now the last knots of this life
Breath by breath
Birth and death
Countless alphas and omegas
Inhale others’ pain
Exhale one’s own gain
The breath of life connects us
Your benediction a wordless communing
breathing my pain for your kind consuming
breathing me glimpses of your transcendent views
our entwined hearts ascend and fuse
consumed in a blaze of awed beatitude
leaving undying embers of gratitude
Breath by breath
Birth and death
Countless alphas and omegas
Inhale others’ pain
Exhale one’s own gain
The breath of life connects us
Not just for us this final exchange
we include multitudes as far we range
all welcomed in our expanding embrace
across infinities of time and space
sending love to fulfill every need
blessed and blessing beyond light‘s speed
_____________________________________________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, July 4, 2015. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged alpha and omega, birth and death, breath of life, final breaths, giving and receiving, nearing death, tonglen | Leave a Comment »
July 3, 2015 by dmcglauflin
At first I minded
we minded together
the daily assault of mounting losses
the thief who kept returning to steal more of you
Then I minded alone —
minding too that you no longer did
or just had flashes of recall and regret —
left with no escape from the plunder of our life
In the anguish of uncoupling
I wrestle with the riddle of our connection
a wounded wolf howling in caves of despair
Then, thundering grace in a thought-less moment
The finding is in the losing
when the delusion of separateness dies
One soaring heart beyond all woes and throes
beyond mind and minding
______________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, July 3, 2015. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged Alzheimer's Disease, beyond mind, death and dying, delusion of separateness, grace in dying | Leave a Comment »
May 17, 2015 by dmcglauflin
Tilting water world
One red leaf falls to the pond
Startled geese take flight
Osprey over pond
Sharp-eyed, wings fold and plummet
Death served with a splash
Fluffy baby swans
Only two left of seven
Snapping turtles’ lunch
After a flood tide
Stranded fish gasp on the sand
Mouthing alien air
Cherished family dog
Releasing its final breath
Suddenly a corpse
Copyright Deborah McGlauflin, April 2011. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged death and impermanence, death in nature, haiku, natural death | Leave a Comment »
May 17, 2015 by dmcglauflin
Bearing witness to your labored last breaths
Loved ones keen and the hospice nurse comforts
A mourning dove lights on the windowsill
Plumps its breast and coos its haunting five-note song
Your eyelids flutter and we all exchange glances
It’s time, and it’s the time of knowing it’s time
Words fail, and in the gap a gift of insight
Each life’s end like a wave spilling on certain shore
Losing its swell and sliding back into the ocean
Adding a measure of pinnacled experience to the deeps
How it caressed the canopy of space-blued sky
How it reflected the roving sun, moon and stars
A prayer then for good in the end
As we approach the beach may we each be
Sweetly open, unbiased, and uncomplicated
So that the rest may simply take care of itself
So that we may all know the grace in dying
The joy in rejoining the depths of our sea
_____________________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, May 17, 2015. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged grace in dying, lessons from dying, reflected experience, time of death, time of dying | Leave a Comment »
May 12, 2015 by dmcglauflin
Some few slip free of gravity
into orbit thundering heavily
there they ghost above the oblivious
and witness the sacred obvious
Finitude beholding the Infinite
Some when dying attain liberation
from the gravity of their situation
they float us free in a loving wake
clear eyes reflecting a bottomless lake
Finitude beholding the Infinite
__________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, May 12, 2015. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged achieving orbit, attaining liberation, contemplating infinity, escaping gravity, finitude, human mortality, liberation from death, sacred perspective | Leave a Comment »
May 12, 2015 by dmcglauflin
How will my fabled story end
my tale of wins and woes
I’m curious I must confess
to see how it finally goes
The years have doled out practice
with tears of loss and separation
it seems the dying’s in the living
every day’s a preparation
I know just how my story ends
I know how yours ends too
with the death at last of dying
the rest is much ado
__________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, May 12, 2015. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged death and dying, loss and separation, much ado about nothing, story's end | Leave a Comment »
April 11, 2015 by dmcglauflin
Be it peaceful or arduous
Come it swiftly or slow
Without need to know
May I patiently remain
In the here and the now
In the bare whatsoever
With no need to alter
May I calmly remain
Without foisting my faith
Without senseless chatter
With a touch that is tender
May I gently remain
When ready or not
Death claims a life dear
Without hope, without fear
May I simply remain
________________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, March 2015. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged calm abiding, companioning the dying, compassionate presence, death awareness, keeping vigil, peacefully remaining | Leave a Comment »
April 11, 2015 by dmcglauflin
One fervent wish
With the last breath
No feats to accomplish
No regret at death
One simple intent
No actions to deplore
Nothing left to repent
Just an empty store
One crowning bequest
No anguish or worry
No remainder but dust
No need to be sorry
One ardent desire
No sorrows to lament
No spite and no ire
A purse that’s spent
One tour de force
No harsh words to rue
No cause for remorse
No residue
_________________________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, November 27, 2014. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged death awareness, deathbed remorse, dying without regret, forgiveness, mortality, peaceful death | Leave a Comment »
November 27, 2014 by dmcglauflin
Out the door with a hurried “See you later”
as if I knew the sum of my remaining breaths
as if Starbuck’s could pour a perfect potion
to keep me safe in all lanes at all speeds
as if my briefcase were a magic shield
against malevolence and madness
as if I had immunity from germs and bombs
and earnest supplication might win
the hallpass of invincibility
Oh I know I will die someday
but not today and not for many tomorrows
as if I’d been promised untold awakenings
plenty of time to thank and forgive
to love and laugh, to play and pray
My edifice cracks but is slow to crumble
funerals bob on my calendar like buoys
in a swelling tide of exits
the blank space shrinks
on a bulletin board that enshrines
photos of deceased pets, kin and friends
glossy ghosts not dead to me
they murmur and crowd my delusion
as if they think I need reminding
Oh I know I will die someday
but not today and not for many tomorrows
I get in the car and turn the key
off to the races and betting it all
As if I am sure.
_________________________________________
Copyright Deborah A. McGlauflin, November 27, 2014. All rights reserved.
Posted in Good in the End poetry collection (death and dying) | Tagged death awareness, impermanence, mortality, reflecting on death | Leave a Comment »
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