Thanks Tom

We've had a pretty sucky week financially - welcome to the club right? I was complaining about it to one of my dearest and oldest friends and he sent me this wonderful poem by Jody Aliesan in her book, Grief Sweat. I wasn't familiar with her work but I will look for her books.

winter solstice
when you startle awake in the dark morning
heart pounding breathing fast
sitting bolt upright staring into
dark whirlpool black hole
feeling its suction
get out of bed
knock at the door of your nearest friend
ask to lie down beside ask to be held
listen while whispered words
turn the hole into deep night sky
stars close together
wintermoon rising over white fields
nearby wren rustling dry leaves
distant owl echoing
two people walking up the road laughing
let your soul laugh
let your heart sigh out
that long held breath so hollow in your stomach
so swollen in your throat
already light is returning pairs of wings
lift softly off your eyelids one by one
each feathered edge clearer between you
and the pearl veil of day
you have nothing to do but live

Tom is one of the best crap detectors that I have ever known and gets right to the heart of... your heart. He hears what you're saying and really hears what is underneath and behind the words, often even hidden from the one speaking. And then he brings deep and appropriate wisdom to the situation. Gently, and without minimizing my distress, he reminded me that the shortest, darkest day is filled with the promise of new light coming.

Thanks Tom for holding me across the miles.