If Earth Were Sky (And Sky Above): A Poem of Love and Loss

If Earth Were Sky and Sky Above: A Poem of Love and Loss

Introduction

About This Post

ABOUT THIS POST: If Earth Were Sky (And Sky Above): A Poem of Love and Loss depicts a deeply personal and emotional journey of losing a child to suicide. The author effectively conveys the profound impact of grief through heartfelt words and metaphors. The inclusion of related posts, book links, and additional resources enhances the value of the content.

The author’s commitment to sharing her experience brings authenticity and depth to the topic. The blog’s evolution over the years, from journaling to incorporating poems and songs, shows a meaningful progression in the author’s healing process.

About this Poem

ABOUT THIS POEM: Eleven years ago, I lost my only child, my 20-year-old son, to suicide on June 25, 2012. I grow pensive as I near my son’s memorial date each year, and writing helps me cope with the heaviness of grief.

Year 7 Memorial Date

I wrote If Earth Were Sky (And Sky Above) on my son’s seventh memorial date. For this poem, I thought deeply about how beautiful the world can be, and I reflected on how sad that my son couldn’t stay to see earth in all its glory.

The seasons were changing, May cottonwood trees were blowing their billowy puffs, the skies were bright blue, and the sun shone down to erase any lingering shadows of winter. All this beauty and yet still I wanted to be where my son was. I will never understand why he couldn’t stay.

Ultimately, If Earth Were Sky (And Sky Above) expresses the deep pain and longing experienced after losing a child to suicide. I chose metaphors about the earth, sky, moon, and stars to convey grief and the yearning for connection. This poem can be found in the collection, Find Hope Here: Featuring Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide.

About This Blog

ABOUT THIS BLOG: I started My Forever Son: Chronicling Grief, Hope, and Healing After Losing My Son to Suicide blog in 2015, three years into my grief after losing my son to suicide.

Seeking hope and healing came from journaling my way through my grief and posting it online. In 2019, I began adding original poems about losing a child to suicide, and in 2022, added original songs about losing a child to suicide.

The author’s commitment to sharing her experience brings authenticity and depth to the topic. The blog’s evolution over the years, from journaling to incorporating poems and songs, shows a meaningful progression in the author’s healing process.

11 Years Out

After eleven years of grief work that includes working one-on-one with a professional therapist, joining local grief support groups, and joining the online community of parents who have lost a child to suicide, I find myself in a vastly different space than where I was in the beginning of grief.

I’ve written about the early years of acute, agonizing grief throughout this blog. Somewhere along the way through sleepless nights and endless tears, I found I was carrying both ache and love for my son.

Dylan’s story is my story, and in being present in my own life, I am walking out both his life and mine: Walking through Shadows: Surviving the Unthinkable Loss of a Child to Suicide.

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I am Beth Brown, Dylan’s Mom. I write that I might find healing along the way. Writing this blog, poems, songs, and books (Bury My Heart: Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide) brings perspective and healing to a grief that will always linger.

Once upon a time in a lifetime before Dylan’s suicide, I taught rhetoric, composition, American Literature and British Literature. I’ve written a book of poems about losing a child to suicide, Bury My Heart: Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide.

I also write long-form poems (Resilience is Living in the Glare of My Son’s Suicide). I’ve written extensively about Grief, Hope, and Healing in my blog, My Forever Son.

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Resources & Strategies

Resources and Strategies for Coping with Suicide Loss

• Read More: Help, Hope, Healing After Suicide Loss: Support, Books, Resources
• Read More: Surviving the Suicide of Your Child: Support, Resources, Hope
• Read More: Find Hope Here: Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide
• Read More: What to Say to Parents Who Lose a Child to Suicide

Resources for Hope and Healing

• Read More: Rising from Grief: Embracing Hope and Healing After Losing a Child to Suicide
• Read More: Finding Hope, Healing, and Resilience in Nature
• Read More: Rising Up-Because Love Lives Forever
• Read More: A Glimpse of Hope in Grief

Resources for Coping with the Heaviness of Guilt in Suicide Grief

• Read More: Navigating Grief: Finding Solace After Losing a Child to Suicide
• Read More: The Burden in Grief: Navigating Guilt After Losing a Child to Suicide
• Read More: Coping with Guilt After Losing a Child to Suicide: Strategies and Support
• Read More: Self Blame and Guilt: I Couldn’t Save My Son

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A Poem About Losing a Child to Suicide: If Earth Were Sky (And Sky Above)

IF EARTH WERE SKY (AND SKY ABOVE)

If earth were sky and sky above,
Then heart could hold this ache of love,
Suspended, like rain, in clouds wanting to fall,
But bound to sun’s joy because heart touches all.

I fall ‘ere so slowly most cannot yet tell,
My pain lives so deep and my heart goes through hell.
I crawl more than walk through days such as these,
Heavy with sorrow, wanting only ache relieved.

And yet truly what is can’t be undone,
I’ve lost my life in the loss of my son.
For seven years counting this marking of time,
Having lost in him life, both his then and mine.

I stay hollow inside though try as I might,
Come to from the damage of my now soiled life.
I’d rather be still with my son by my side,
My heart filled with love and my joy still alive.

©Beth Brown 2021
Find Hope Here: Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide

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Related Posts

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Healing Words: 3 Free Poems for Coping with the Loss of a Child to Suicide

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A Book of Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide: Bury My Heart

Bury My Heart: Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide

A Deep Sorrow:
Bury My Heart–Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide is a poignant collection of poems that dives deep into the profound sorrow experienced by parents who have lost a child to suicide. Through heartfelt words and raw emotions, the poet explores the overwhelming pain and grief that comes with such a devastating loss.

Earth, Sky, Moon, Stars:
In this section, the poet draws inspiration from nature to express the vast emptiness and longing felt after the loss of a child. The poems beautifully capture the elements of the earth, sky, moon, and stars, serving as a metaphor for the vastness of grief and the yearning for connection with the departed child.

Why?:
“Why?” delves into the complex and unanswerable question of why a child would choose to take their own life. These poems reflect the turmoil and confusion that parents face as they grapple with the loss and seek some semblance of understanding in the face of such tragedy.

In Losing You, I Lost Me Too:
This collection explores the profound impact of losing a child to suicide on the parents’ own sense of identity and existence. These poems reflect on the profound changes that occur within the parents, as they navigate through feelings of guilt, despair, and the struggle to find a new sense of self.

That My Love Travel with You Always:
This collection of poems encapsulates the enduring love and connection that the parents feel for their departed child. The poems in this section express the desire for their love and memories to transcend beyond the realms of grief and accompany their child’s spirit forever.

With Bury My Heart: Poems About Losing a Child to Suicide, readers are invited to embark on an emotional journey through the depths of grief, finding solace and a shared experience in the poet’s heartfelt words.

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