Of Kites, Trees, And Photos

Kaleidoscopic swirling bits of life
     Surround our view with shards of joy and strife;
          Till full our hearts – too full to bear much more,
               Yet on it comes, fresh news piles at our door.

“Cute Button Child”, and aftermath of grief;
     “The Picture’s” life fulfilled with ending peace;
           Transition’s time of turbulential change;
                Great loss, great gain, yet much remains the same.

To lift our hearts, short-term, kite rises high –
     It's coloured banner strains against the sky –
          Mid-term, we clasp those fleeting photo-frames
               Delaying loss our mem’ries short retain.

But planted tree, ’tis thirty years gone by
     Since neighbours struggled losses such as I;
          Those branches rise in scarlet ’gainst the sky –
               Speak to my heart of life we once must die –

For it was planted there the year of loss,
     But living on, it speaks the real cost
          Of these sad days, as we adjust our pace,
               Return to life, rejoin our human race –

For like that tree, we change as time goes on;
     The loss it marks has changed and moved along;
          Fresh grief is raw, and hurts us deep within;
               Three decades pass – maturity we win –

For loss and grief are part of who we are;
     Like aged trees we bear each passing scar;
          We twist and turn and reach towards the sun
               To triumph now, thus darkness overcome.

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