Sad eyes Without a smile. Years of tears Stained with fear. A broken heart That’s torn apart. A body and mind Tested by time. A tired soul Made of solid gold. Lifetime of pain Comes with a cane. Yesterday and tomorrow Feelings of sorrow. Memories of death There’s more left. Grief Without relief. All offers accepted! Deborah Ann Tornillo Copyright© 2009 http://www.deborahtornillo.com
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By Tom Golden As I watched our local TV news the other day, I was saddened to see a brief clip about a little, seven-year-old boy who had been hit by a car and killed. The tragedy happened not far from the boy’s home. The news cameras focused on the bereaved mother, sitting in her living room, in tears and surrounded by other women who were consoling her. The next image was of the bereaved father who was by himself, pacing next to the roadside near where the accident had happened. The news anchor explained that the father was trying […]
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When my brother died in the spring of 2007, I barely had time to mourn him. Our elder daughter — mother of our twin grandchildren — had died four months earlier. My father-in-law died the same weekend and we were swamped with tasks. We were also doing all we could to nurture our grandchildren — children who were now without a mother. Grief was still raw when my brother had a heart attack and died. Apparently, he had survived cancer treatment, but his heart had not. We attended the memorial service on Long Island, flew home, and tried to put […]
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Let me enjoy Christmas I want to feel the sparkle The white of the lights The colors of the season. Let me enjoy Christmas I want to get beyond The crowds at the mall For all the right seasons. Let me enjoy Christmas I want to feel the holiday The happiness of my family And, yes – the happiness of me. Let me enjoy Christmas No more tears No more sadness No more deaths. Let me feel Christmas! Deborah Ann Tornillo Copyright©, 2009 http://www.deborahtornillo.com
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On January 11, 2003, I visited my dad who was recuperating from pneumonia in a care center. That night, as always, we talked about the old days, something we loved to do. Sometimes the topic of conversation would be about how much fun we have had over the years winning hundreds (more like a couple thousand) stuffed animals from fairs by throwing balls into a bushel basket or bouncing coins into a glass plate. Even at age 80, Dad was still good at it. Only a couple months before, on his yearly trip to ‘Vegas, he’d won several stuffed animals […]
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Why, do you show your face? Is it because it is cold outside Or, because the leaves have fallen Because, the snow is blanketing The ground with white crystals? Why? You visit often, just recently Taking a life, my father Then, you took my mother. Why just 36 days apart Did you show your face? Why? Now, you come back, and Knock at the door, once more Taunting, gripping, pulling Wanting to take another life Does age matter? Why? He’s just a simple man A man with many years Yet, he has little strength Yes, he’s tired, yes he’s weak […]
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I think one of the most frequently asked questions after a loss is, “What should I say to someone who is grieving?” My company has developed a product that might help with that. Some background: This past April, I wrote about the importance of acknowledging people who are grieving. Often, the fear of saying the wrong thing leads people to say nothing. From the bereaved individual’s point of view, this could be seen as uncaring or pretending the death did not occur. So I shared some excerpts from our book, “Cracking the Code to Leadership,” in the hope that it would help […]
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I have been in and out of jail for well over a year. I’m not there because I’ve broken a law or violated probation. I visit the barb wired facility to bring hope into a very dark place. It’s part of my healing process after losing my best friend six years ago in a plane crash. Hopelessness is the unwanted companion I share with the jail’s residents. We have something in common. Jail sucks the light right out of the 120 female inmates. I, too, sat in darkness for years after the unexpected death of my friend Jody. The inmates […]
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In 1987, when I was eighteen years old, my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia two weeks prior to Christmas. We brought Christmas to her in her hospital room that year in the midst of her chemotherapy, complete with a homemade turkey dinner. What I couldn’t have imagined then was that in eight short months my mother Nancy would pass, to be followed only three weeks later by my brother Adam in a car accident. In the months to follow, I thought a lot about a specific conversation I had with my mother mere days before her […]
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Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.
