Hard days of grief press,
pain not forgotten

My Easter dress hangs limp in the closet.

Messy hair, void of make-up,
weary with remembrance

Sleepy, I make my way into the kitchen.

The tomb search begins,
traces of light the intent

I look for the rainbow everywhere.

Gather remnants of color
to disguise the despair

This is my urgent offering of love.

Earth quakes a low moan,
eyes well with tears (again)

I never envisioned a scenario quite like this.

Seconds are hours,
heartbeat on high alert

Death sensed in-between the robin’s song.

Even as rose petals fan open,
fear penetrates

All I’ve believed seems a lie, a hoax.

A loss of faith teeters, yet
holy miracles echo within

I’m led to witness and honor the suffering.

Angelic voices ring with truth,
Stone cracks into pebble

An amber sliver splits my inner fog.

Sun rises through the thin threshold,
releases love into the black night

Trembling, I retrieve my hope.

I set off to tell everyone.

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Happy Easter to you friends! This poem is based on Matthew 28 and Luke 24 in the midst of a global pandemic. Today, may you remember that Jesus was born from a mother. She is evidence of compassionate motherly love and he has traits of her essence within him. May you remember that love trumps darkness; Christ’s suffering and resurrection is a full revelation of His love for us. As Richard Rohr says, “Jesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity (it did not need changing)! Jesus came to change the mind of humanity about God.”