Rising from the battlefield,
bloodied but unvanquished
she still radiates.
I know the struggle.
I nurse her wounds.
I am her partner.
There is nobility
in her rising
and fixing her vision
on the next horizon.
At times like these
she appears to me
exactly as she did
at our beginning:
valiant, heroic,
and beautiful.
The contour of her
smoke-smudged profile
and the jewelry of her tears
inspires me
as I gird my armature.
We embrace
silently taking any
hope and strength we can
from one another
and declare again
our allegiance
and commitment
to victory
under the maxim:
“I love you, baby.”
Facing forward
side by side
we march onward again
onto the battlefield
of our daughter’s
mental illness.
[Originally written 2006, in the early stages of our daughter's depression.]
good on you for walking it with her...for helping her pick up the pieces in the after...and of your wife as well..its hard when our kids struggle and we can feel so helpless not knowing what to do...
ReplyDeleteI really like this poem. It is so hard when someone we love is going through depression. Y'all were fortunate to have each other and to work together. You wrote a wonderful piece that demonstrates your love for your wife and daughter.
ReplyDeleteSo much love for these lines:
ReplyDelete"bloodied but unvanquished
she still radiates"
"There is nobility
in her rising"
"The contour of her
smoke-smudged profile
and the jewelry of her tears"