Vietnam Memorial
“Write anyway,” she whispered in my ear
When I began to doubt myself.
Write through the sorrow
Bear witness to tragedy
Tell the history about the present
The future, about the past
In ways no SLR can remember
No heart can forget
Write anyway…
Write feelings, write manner
Share joy, experience sorrow
Grieve the elderly leaving
Applaud the young arriving
Shift minds of distress
To hearts on the precipice
To hearts of exaltation
With memories in tact
Persisting, demanding miracles
For in that heart space, in the same space
Exists feelings of joy and grief
Linked irrevocably…
Memories glued as if in albums of black, white
And sepia tones
Vague memories, maybe distorted
A bit crooked, tarnished for now
Though never forgotten
For as the famous song is paraphrased
Grief and joy are one
And you can’t have one without the other.
All rights reserved. ©2010 by Sara Fryd
*with many thanks to Linda Burt Pressman for inspiring this. Her ”Write Anyway” can be read at Bar Mitzvahzilla.
Sara, This poem is so lovely and so important and I feel humbled that I, in any way, inspired it. Thank you for writing it and thank you for putting your work out into the world.
Sara’
You, as always, are able to capture the emotion with elegence and paint in the minds of the reader the image you wish for them to see.
Moshe
Yes one is not understood without the other.
Birth is not appreciated unless you have shared death
Life exists forever in our memories.Your poem touches the hearts of those who know both.
Ed Med