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A Stranger's Story |
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 John
F. Tomczak is the author of Shared Knowledge - Dealing With
Bereavement.
John's passion is to make all Canadians
aware of how hospice societies can help
them and their loved ones at a time
of need.
John
has been recognized for his many
exemplary contributions as a board
member of Victoria Hospice Society and
the Independent Living Housing Society
as well as a founding member of Canada's
first bereavement self help group.
John is
the owner of
bereavement.ca
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A Stranger's Story
By John F. Tomczak
I am
sure that many people have just happened to be in
the right place at the right time when a stranger
needs to share a part of their life. I was in
Winnipeg attending the Manitoba Palliative Care
Conference when I had such an experience.
After I had finished my presentation, about walking
groups and the Bereavement Self Help Social Group,
at Victoria Hospice, I was free to take in some of
the other sessions. This day I went to hear a talk
about the spirit world given by a native woman who
worked as a counselor in an area close to Winnipeg.
A
woman came by and sat in the next seat to me. We
talked a bit about the session that was about to
start. She had been to my talk and we chatted about
that for a time. We shared our experiences about the
loss of our loved ones. I told her about my life
with Claire and how we often talked about her having
two husbands and I having two wives.
She
then told me that her husband had died a few years
ago and recently she had found a man who loved her.
She said that she never thought that love would
again someday come to her. We talked a bit how our
new loves were not a replacement for our loved ones
but were just different. I then had the feeling that
I had known this woman for years and here we were,
chatting like old friends.
Finally after a long pause in the conversation she
looked at me and said, “I don’t know you but I feel
that I have to show you something”
What
she gave to me is a poem that her new love had sent
to her. This poem is the tenderness declaration of
love that it has ever been my pleasure to read. I
was almost overcome to the point of tears and all I
could do was hug my new friend. I asked her for
permission to include this poem in my talks. While
she agreed she said that first she had to get
permission to share. She went to the nearest phone
and when she came back she was smiling and I had my
permission.
Here
is the poem:
In your presence,
My heart, once
filled with ashes, comes alive.
In your presence,
My body, once
leaden, becomes light.
In your Presence,
My existence,
long a burden, is a journey of joy.
In your presence,
My spirit hidden
for too long,
Stirs and lifts
its wings, to join you in flight.
In your presence,
My voice, stilled
in self-doubt, becomes strong and clear.
In your presence,
My eyes, clouded
in pain, open every morning
In anticipation
of your smile.
There is little to add and maybe no one should even
try. The writer has shared a part of himself in a
way that few of us are able to do.
To
me this poem is the declaration of his unconditional
love and gives us a glimpse of that love. I
understand the wedding was wonderful and they are
both continuing with their work as hospice
volunteers.
Some
place else I repeated that old cliché that the
entire world loves a lover and of course that is
because we all need to love and be loved.
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| Copyright John
F. Tomczak. All rights reserved |
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For more information on bereavement support, or to
purchase Shared Knowledge, click on the
book cover. |
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