death Archives - Soft In Hard Places

Just Breathe

LisaPullenKent — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 19:47:33 +0000

Re-posted from March 6, 2014 “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart.I am, I am, I am.” Sylvia Plath There’s a stillness that descends on the hospital late at night, softening the harshness … Continue reading →

The post Just Breathe appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

And So This Is Christmas … Let The Grief In

LisaPullenKent — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 00:45:18 +0000

It’s late December, only days to Christmas. The kids are out of school and it’s dark already at 4:30 pm. All the lights burn in the kitchen where my husband is busy making sugar cookies with our girls. Flour dusts … Continue reading →

The post And So This Is Christmas … Let The Grief In appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Eulogy To My Mother

LisaPullenKent — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 01:23:16 +0000

When she shall die,Take her and cut her out in little stars,And she will make the face of heaven so fineThat all the world will be in love with nightAnd pay no worship to the garish sun. William Shakespeare Patricia … Continue reading →

The post Eulogy To My Mother appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

In Her Image

LisaPullenKent — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 02:00:43 +0000

Sometimes I feel like a motherless childSometimes I feel like a motherless childSometimes I feel like a motherless childA long way from home African-American Spiritual I’m going to lose my mother. It’s an inevitability I never used to think about. … Continue reading →

The post In Her Image appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Making Tear Soup

LisaPullenKent — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 15:34:08 +0000

“Are you going to Colorado tomorrow, Mom?” Sydney stands in front of the refrigerator and asks the question for the third time this morning. “No, honey. Two weeks, remember? In two weeks.” I gently nudge her out of the way … Continue reading →

The post Making Tear Soup appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

The Only Way Out is Through

LisaPullenKent — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 05:29:01 +0000

Grief lives in our house. Among the furniture, between the windows and the walls, it sits, thick and unmoving. Grief rides heavy on my chest. I can’t get a good, deep breath these days. It weighs down my husband’s shoulders and molds his features. Grief seeps into our nights of restless sleep and dreams of forgetting, of waking, and then remembering. Continue reading →

The post The Only Way Out is Through appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

The Essence of Her Presence

LisaPullenKent — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:31:24 +0000

She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies . . . Lord Byron (George Gordon) When I was 13 I sketched my mother’s profile in church. Regal, she sat with her chin tilted upward, receiving … Continue reading →

The post The Essence of Her Presence appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Holding Space

LisaPullenKent — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 03:33:13 +0000

I'm flying over New Mexico on my way to Phoenix. Peering through the airplane’s small window, I take in the vastness of the red rocks below. I’m going home. To the funeral of my brother’s son. Continue reading →

The post Holding Space appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.