Last Updated on March 19, 2023 by Lisa Keys
A poem for this day. Mystery of a Broken Heart
~Henry David Thoreau
Let us agree
for now
that we will not say
the breaking
makes us stronger
or that it is better
to have this pain
than to have done
without this love.
Let us promise
we will not
tell ourselves
time will heal
the wound,
when every day
our waking
opens it anew.
Perhaps for now
it can be enough
to simply marvel
at the mystery
of how a heart
so broken
can go on beating,
as if it were made
for precisely this-
as if it knows
the only cure for love
is more of it,
as if it sees
the heart's sole remedy
for breaking
is to love still,
as if it trusts
that its own
persistent pulse
is the rhythm
of a blessing
we cannot
begin to fathom
but will save us
nonetheless.
Does this poem, the mystery of a broken heart, speak to you as much as it does to me?
Rich Beebe says
Yes! – to this – Yes! What else needs to be said? Other than, thank you for sharing this piece of wisdom at the beginning of a challenging month. Love to you and yours. Rich
Lisa says
HDT writes so perfectly in so few words what we know and feel. Love to you dear friend as you continue on your journey
Marcie says
Thank you for sharing. <3
Lisa says
Thank you for sharing with me.
patcook1 says
I have been reading a book given to me by the funeral director last year when Paul passed. It is a daily meditation for working through grief. ~ Healing After Loss by Martha Whitmore Hickman who lost a daughter. I found this quote quite poignant.
"Look upon each day that comes as a challenge, as a test of courage. The pain will come in waves, some days worse than others, for no apparent reason. Accept the pain. Do not suppress it. Never attempt to hide grief from yourself. Little by little, just as the deaf, the blind, the handicapped develop with time an extra sense to balance disability, so the bereaved, the widowed, will find new strength, new vision, born of the very pain and loneliness which seem, at first, impossible to master" ~ Daphne Du Maurier
Lisa says
Yes we do learn to adapt as a matter of survival and it does take courage. Thank you for sharing another beautifully written truth ❤️
Janice E says
Beautiful thoughts, Lisa - thanks for sharing. Excellent thoughts for everyone, regardless of the circumstances.
Lisa says
Yes...written so well. The poem takes my breath away
Tracy Matino says
wow....
Lisa says
It's just beautiful
Julie Rainbow says
Amen. How beautifully put. This poem chokes me up. How truly beautiful.
Lisa says
Me too
donnabardocz says
This spoke to my heart Lisa! Thanks for this post! <3
Lisa says
You are very welcome. We are in it together.