Memories and Poems

A place for your poem, prayer or letter here ...

The Unnamed Female

Mother, daughter, bound together by loss.
The conceived, but now unnamed fetus,
Hand sized, dusky pink head,
Tiny fingers, legs and body,
Place lovingly on the yellow bunting,
To later fill the memory box.

Disposable camera, exposed film,
Waiting for a day when
Curiosity wins over grief.
The desire to remember,
Out weighs the wish to forget.

The Granddaughter, the Daughter,
Conceive in love,
Aborted by nature,
Tiny incomplete, life,
Four months of nine,
This precious, Unnamed Grandchild of mine.

Judith Kaley Clark 2/13/09

What Can Hospice Volunteers Do?

We “be” with you
We listen, really listen, to what you have to say
We find answers to your questions, if answers can be found
We are helpers when we bring a meal or make your phone call
We stay with you quietly while your family goes out

We are not strangers or guests,
    we think of you as a “new best friend”
We respect all that you believe in
    without adding our thoughts to yours
We honor you as you are at this very moment in time

As you pass through this journey at the end of life
We can hold your hand
We can find help if you feel pain or worry
We can hear your stories and we can help you write them down

We can be with you

Sherry Peirce Corbin, September 2006

A Prayer for Healing

Fill me, Lord, with the power of your Holy Spirit
Help me to remember you are within me and around me

With my eyes closed and my heart open
I feel myself within a circle of purple healing light
I see yellow flowers unfolding
    and the child within me playing
I hear Angel Song

Shield me from evil, Lord, now and always
For in your image I am invincible

With my eyes closed and my heart open
I ask for your grace and for peace that goes beyond
    all understanding
Give me the strength to overcome imbalance in my body
Restore the joy in my heart and the purity of my thoughts
My spirit will follow

Sherry Peirce Corbin, 2006

In the Garden of My Heart

I walked along the path
On the highway of memories
Looking at the flowers
And what they have meant to me.
The roses red, that spoke of love
A love that never died,
The white that stood for purity.
How many times I cried.
The yellow rose for jealousy,
How many homes were broken,
Because of unkind words
That never should have been spoken.
There are pinks and violets, some purple and blue,
Remind you of friends that were always so true.
I pick them up, all one by one
And hold them oh so tight.
'Cause they bring me consolation
When I'm lonely through the night.
And as I hold them, each one so dear
And remember the special part,
Of the friendship and love still growing here
In the garden of my heart

Shared by a Pine Tree Hospice
Volunteer in training, June 2005

Prayer for Peace at the Time of Passing

Dear God, You were there with me
    before I began to grow in my mother’s womb
Your love for me was unconditional
    I did not need to pay
You knew I would separate myself from you
    as I moved through my youth
    running, jumping, and playing
No worry of now, no fear of tomorrow
You stood beside me, barely seen
    as I blossomed to womanhood
You watched with love as I crafted my life
    carrying me in the rough spots
    glowing beside me when my life shined
As my spirit grew I learned to hear your word

Thank you, God, for showing me Who You Are
Thank you for your love that passes all understanding
Thank you for your gifts to me
    of strength, and courage, and joy, and humbleness
Thank you, God, for the people in my life who love me
    as I love them

Father, I am now preparing for the time
    when I will be nearer to you
Be with me Lord, very close, as I approach this transition
    Hold my failing body in your hands
    Fill my heart with your Divine Love
    Enlighten my spirit
Help me to know my loved ones are cradled
    at this time of their sorrow
I love you, Jesus
    And I know you love me
    unconditionally

You hold my body in your hands
    You fill my heart with Divine Love
You bring my spirit to the most pure light
    You give me peace beyond all human understanding
Thank you God
    Thank you God
        amen

This prayer was for Judy Westing, colleague and friend.
Judy was a charter member of Harford Hospice

in Harford County, Maryland.

Sharon Peirce Corbin, January 3, 2003

To the Natural Healer Within You

May you come to know there is a natural order, a divine presence, an absolute truth

We gain glimpses, always clear but oft times brief of this natural, divine, and absolute light

The confines of our human selves, though noble, cause us to relate to truth and wisdom in a relative way
We cannot yet hold, or even define, the greater power

Be at ease in selecting your tools of healing. Any thought or word or deed is the right one
    when it is grounded by emerging acceptance
    of competent healing practice,

and when it is given with unconditional love
for the greater good of another soul

Sherry Peirce Corbin, 1998

Daddy's Little Man

It was early that October morning, when you came to be,

"He has many problems," they said,
but you looked perfect to me.

"Your son is a very special child," said they,
"with very special needs."

"My son is a very special child," said I,
"but not for what you see."

"He's Daddy's Little Man, the image of Love,
He is Patience and Hope, a gift from above,

He's the meaning of giving, I'm his number one fan,
For this is my son, and he's Daddy's Little Man."

Then God called you home to sit by His side,
Spared from life's sorrows, no tears will he cry.

And, though the tears still flow as the months go by,
He who lives on in our hearts, will never really die.

'Cause you're Daddy's Little Man, the image of Love,
You are Patience and Hope, a gift from above,

You're the meaning of giving, I'm you're number one fan,
For Justin, you are my son, Daddy's Little Man

In Loving Memory of Justin Scott Spoors
October 4, 1990 to January 9, 1991