intruder

Pain never knocks,
Nor does it ask permission.
It barges in life’s door,
Uninvited and unwanted.

While we ask "Why?"
Pain steals away our strength
And saps joy dry.

But soon we find
That pain leaves gifts behind.
The theft of what we cherish
Clears away the clutter,
So we discover:

Faith–that tangled problems
Will unravel and smooth out someday.
Hope–that healing will allow us
To help others as we are being helped today.
Love–that sees the beauty of committed caring
Through tough times,
And finds that "whole"
Is not a quality
Of body,
But of soul.

Written for a friend who lost part of his hand in an accident.

–Linda Neff (from love, laughter and tears © 2003 – used with permission)

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I met Linda at the Write Canada Conference last year and bought her volume of poems, above. As I read them I found her wisdom and caring heart were always breaking through. Many of her poems were written to celebrate special occasions, or are dedicated to special people – like the one above. She illustrates how meaningful is the gift of a poem! Read another poem by Linda here.

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Just in case you're wondering - 'what's with all the poetry on here?' - just a reminder: April is poetry month in Canada (at least according to the 'League of Canadian Poets') and on my blog!