presence

presence
©7-31-16 hannah mclean

it is presence
that comforts:
it is hands
that touch;
it is arms
that surround;
it is feet
that stand beside;
it is eyes
that see the sorrow...
it is presence
that comforts.

in this moment
of gratitude
for hearts nearby
a name rolls
through my mind
strumming across
my heart’s frayed strings
releasing a sweet note
that hangs upon the air
filling in the
empty space

Immanuel:
God with us.

-----

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saved the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

i watch

dying is an ugly business
the separation of body and spirit
never before apart
unwinding from each other

i watch my auntie
in her last moments
surrounded by heartbroken people
loving her with all their might

i watch my grandpa
sitting beside her death bed
sorrow running down his face
assuring his daughter as she slips away
 
i watch those around her
offering her their strength
helping her die
with dignity and grace

i watch pain
running it’s unkindly
yet purposeful course
stretching across my auntie’s body
gently streaming down my grandpa’s weathered face
and rippling through the rest of us
pointing us all to the wholeness of eternity
and aiding in the impending separation

i watch love
eagerly displaying
that though dying is an ugly business
there is beauty to be seen
starkly contrasting the stench of loss and grief
is the sweet aroma of gratitude
for the knowledge of lives
forever changed by having touched

if only for a moment

and so I sit
taking in the ugliness
taking in the beauty
marveling at the unity
not just of the moments
but of those of us
who walk them together