How to Keep Singing with a Broken Heart

It is sure in this tangled web of a life we lead,

the day will arrive when our heart is split right in two.

When the world seems to stop

and all on the inside is shifted

though we are still breathing.

Each breath feels like a labored effort

Each step forward a long walk.

Though we know we must travel forward

the soul lingers behind.

When we begin to see and experience life

through the lens of sorrow

as the heart feels it way amongst the breaking.

When laughter is low and meaning

escapes the traveler

When there is a wondering,

Shall I ever be the same.

As the soul passes through the swamp of sorrow

the heart begins to weep

letting out the wailing of what was lost.

It is in the watershed that we begin to awaken

And walk with a heart that is

tender and aware

that life is precious

that it can be mended – that cracked heart

though the scar will remain.

That the heart will sing again though in a much richer way,

as the breaking has itself brought new life

to the holy sacred unstoppable heart

solidly in the chest

of the Traveler

Onward, my friends, onward

to the final bow.

               ~Lori Ellis-McKinney (2014)