Dedicated to those loved, and lost

Dearly Beloved
Dedicated to those loved, and lost


Dearly beloved,
How can you have gone?
One minute living your life,
The next ~ no life to live.
And in my life
A gaping, lifeless, dark hole
Where once shone your living light.
Oh, how I miss you ~
Your laughter, your style, your grace.
Such tangible emptiness
A sorrow sore borne.

Alas, dearly beloved,
I must go on,
Minute by minute living my life
In tribute to your laughter, love and dignity.
Gradually filling the darkness again
With the light of
Your beloved memory ~
Your beauty, your smile, your face.
For such intangible comfort
I can scarce hope.
Dearly beloved ~ I miss you.

Copyright Dorothy McDonall

The loss of those near and dear to us through sudden illness or accident is always a shock. I am prompted today to share this poem, written several years ago, in response to the experience of a very dear girlfriend who has lost three family members within the past nine months at approximately three-month intervals. It is very sad to watch this lovely woman suffer so much emotional pain and loss over such a short period of time. She is one of those people who truly doesn't deserve it.

Such loss of those we love can leave a terrible void. I believe it is that sudden emptiness which renders us inconsolable as we attempt to come to terms with it, and wonder how we will ever fill it so that we once again feel complete.

I believe we have only two real choices when life hands us the sour lemon of a loved one's death: we either add sugar and make lemonade by honouring their memory and somehow making good of a sad situation. Or, we suck on its sour juices until our lips pucker and complain about the bitterness that never seems to end.

Knowing my girlfriend she will, once the shock has worn off, choose to make lemonade and I will be there, as much as she needs me, to help.

In the meantime I dedicate this poem to her and those she has loved, and lost.

I love you, Janice ..