Hearts of Sorrow

Introduction Unbidden, my heart weeps, tearlets cloud my eyes; I miss you. Life is filled with pain. It is structured that way. Through pain, we learn lessons that would be impossible to comprehend without suffering. If you have lost a loved one, you know this suffering all too well. You feel as if your heart has been ripped from your chest—emotional pain and upheaval seem insurmountable. This agonizing pain, in its purest form, is called grief. Grief is the love that transcends loss after a loved one passes. It lingers in your heart with nowhere to go. Suddenly, you are thrust into a journey of self-reflection, forced to redefine who you are in the absence of what was. It’s a personal journey, a spiritual odyssey unique to you. Many people need an outlet to express their grief. I needed several. I saw a psychiatrist and a social worker for grief counseling, attended a support group, and talked the ears off friends and acquaintances. And I wrote to get through day-to-day difficulties, release pain, and challenge my beliefs. From my agonizing anguish, ten grief memoirs were born. Perhaps you’ve read some of them. If you did, I hope they provided solace and guided you along your heart’s journey. Hearts of Sorrow: A Poetic Odyssey through Grief and Healing is my second poetry collection. Each poem offers a glimpse into my emotional journey after losing the love of my life—my husband, my mentor, my best friend of thirty-eight years. I share the love we built, the pain I carried, and the long, winding path to healing. Through its varied poetic forms, my work reveals that joy and sorrow coexist in life, often intertwining in ways we don’t expect. In A Poetry Handbook, Mary Oliver writes, "Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry." Human emotions run deep; they reveal our frailties. The need to nurture ourselves while enduring depression, anxiety, despondency, and myriad other grief-related symptoms is one of the heart’s most poignant experiences. Poetry has been a godsend to me. It’s been both a refuge and an escape—a road to walk, a path toward discovering who I am and who I want to be. Poetry has been my catharsis. This collection is for those who have loved and lost, and for everyone on a journey of healing. Within its pages, you’ll find monostichs—thought-provoking, single-line poems, rich in imagery. You’ll read structured poems such as haiku and tanka, and playful patterns including rhyming poems, limericks, and a paradelle—a form created by former US poet laureate Billy Collins. There’s also formal poetry, including sestina, villanelle, and sonnet, as well as free verse poetry. These varied poetic expressions explore the beauty of memory, the ache of loss, the bittersweet call of nostalgia, and the hope that lies ahead. Thank you for choosing Hearts of Sorrow: A Poetic Odyssey through Grief and Healing. May you find comfort and understanding within these pages, and may my poetry serve as a companion on your personal grief journey, guiding you through exploration, resilience, and eventual healing. I hope my words and verses inspire reflection on the many facets of your grief, bringing hope and solace in their midst. If my poetry makes even a small contribution to your life, I am grateful. From within the darkness, light persists. From my heart to yours, I wish you health, peace, and a lifetime of love.