"Things aren't all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most experiences are unsayable, they happen in a space that no word has ever entered, and more unsayable than all other things are works of art, those mysterious existences, whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life."
— Rainer Maria Rilke
How to write about the unsayable? Here goes...
In the early hours of the morning, a dear friend of mine lost her beloved baby. Words cannot express how devastated I am for her, and how deeply unfair it is.
What is unsayable is not what happened. It is the depth of her loss.
I have a stockpile of ideas for this blog, ready for fleshing out, perfecting and publishing. All of them explore ideas on happiness, sadness, dreams, simplicity, art, inspiration and finding meaning. What I forget, all too often, is that some things transgress all of these concepts. They can't be solved, or fixed, or rationalised. They can be overcome, but it takes time; there are no rules or steps to follow. And even when life, inevitably, goes on, the pain is still there, ebbing away under the skin, surfacing in memories and what could have been.
My friend has asked us to pray for her little family. And so tonight I pray that life will be kind to them; that she will eventually be able to forgive life (or God) for the tragedy that has so undeservedly befallen her; that she be a mother again, one day. And most of all I pray that she will not allow her loss to compromise her beautiful, gentle, loving heart, that has so, so much to give.
"We were together. I forget the rest."
— Walt Whitman
This photograph was taken by Melanie Rodriguez. You can find her photostream here.
2 comments:
OMG I'm nearly in tears at my desk at work. This is so true and I love that you understand and will be there for your friend. Makes us re-think our complaints and see that we should be happy of our lives and appreciate everyday that we have with our loved ones.
So true Sarah! Thank you for your lovely words xx
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