There’s an order that life is supposed to follow. An order of breaths we are supposed to take, as if we are passing a torch from one generation to the next. And our torch is supposed to go out before our child’s flame is extinguished.
We are supposed to watch them take their first breath. But not their last.
We are supposed to hear the thud-thud of their heart when it starts beating. But never the silence when it stops.
That heart that we once carried inside of us. That breath that we gave them. That life that we kept safe, protected.
So when the order of life is disrupted,
when their torch goes out before yours,
it is as if you too have been robbed of your breath
and as if your heart has stopped beating as well.
There is nothing that can make it less painful.
You would blow out your flame if it meant theirs could burn.
But you can’t. Even though that’s how it should be.
So all you can do is carry them inside you -
like you did once before. Except now they have to stay in your heart forever.
And though it hurts, know that they are safe there.
They are protected.
Because a mother’s love is unending.
Because it burns forever with every breath you take and with every beat your heart makes.
Because a mother’s love is a flame
that can
never
be extinguished.
*****
I'm sharing it in the lead up to Mothers' Day for many, but I know that it doesn't only apply to mothers. Sending love to anyone this resonates with.
Becky Hemsley 2023
Beautiful artwork ©️Akira Kusaka
We are supposed to hear the thud-thud of their heart when it starts beating. But never the silence when it stops.
That heart that we once carried inside of us. That breath that we gave them. That life that we kept safe, protected.
So when the order of life is disrupted,
when their torch goes out before yours,
it is as if you too have been robbed of your breath
and as if your heart has stopped beating as well.
There is nothing that can make it less painful.
You would blow out your flame if it meant theirs could burn.
But you can’t. Even though that’s how it should be.
So all you can do is carry them inside you -
like you did once before. Except now they have to stay in your heart forever.
And though it hurts, know that they are safe there.
They are protected.
Because a mother’s love is unending.
Because it burns forever with every breath you take and with every beat your heart makes.
Because a mother’s love is a flame
that can
never
be extinguished.
*****
I'm sharing it in the lead up to Mothers' Day for many, but I know that it doesn't only apply to mothers. Sending love to anyone this resonates with.
Becky Hemsley 2023
Beautiful artwork ©️Akira Kusaka
