Bittersweet

By Lori Lindsay, Soldotna

I didn’t know my life could change,

I didn’t know it needed to.

But you were an unexpected miracle

That opened up my eyes.

You filled my heart with joy and love

A depth I’d never known

You gave me that sweet title “mother”

I thought I’d never hear.

But why then God, the bliss so brief?

Why did you call him home?

To leave me barren and alone,

A grief to bare, my own.

It could have turned my heart to stone

It could have made me bitter.

But I choose gratitude for having known you

If only for a while

I will not see you run and play

I will not see you grow

I will not see you go to school

I will not see you marry

But I will smell your sweet soft scent

And I will hear you coo

And I will see you smile at me

And that will never fade

God’s plan for us is never clear

The path we walk is hard

So many lessons here to learn

Before we go back home

But will we cling to bitterness and curse the rocky road?

Or will we savor gratitude for tender mercies shown?