On suffering

I did it once.

Went through the dark night of the soul in a little row boat

And didn’t sink.

So I did it once.

Then again and again

I have been called to attend to separation

Suffer the stark, dark gritty agony of loneliness –

And realize

There is no cure for being human

I am almost sixty now

My hair is silver and gray

My eyes betray my years

As do the fine lines around my mouth

Smile and grimace both

I don’t much like getting back in the boat

To ride out the night

Or say hello to the now familiar darkness

Out from which I will emerge

Glad to be alive.

But I will do it.

After all, I have a lot of practice.

Silvia Behrend

On life

Opening and closing

Systole and diastole

How lucky we are!

We do not have to command our heart to beat

or control the expansion or contraction

Lungs fill, lungs empty

Organs, physical and spiritual together

We live without effort.

If only that were true when the heart is pierced by pain

Or our bellies drop with fear

When the throat parches

And the tongue sticks to the roof of the mouth

Then we need effort and the courage to risk

Standing

and standing still

Even when the winds blow

and the inner admonitions sound true but are not

That is when we command our heart to stay strong

We swallow the fear

We stand and unglue our tongues

We say, No

Or we say Yes.

Systole and diastole.

How lucky.

Silvia Behrend