City of IF

[Andolyn]

Crying for Strangers

I wrote this song when I was leaving my clinicals at the hospital one day. I was privileged to spend a day with a man who was totally in his right mind, but would not survive the illness he was suffering. It really touched my heart being with him all day, and I cried all the way home. This is what came from that experience. Enjoy


Have you ever cried for a stranger?
Ever shed tears for someone you've only just met?
Have you ever had a broken heart for
One you might not ever see again?

Have you ever held a shaking hand?
Would you
Ever reach out and help them in spite of yourself?
Have you stood in the gap for someone
Instead of watching them fall into the crack?

There is One who wept for me.
There is One who gave Himself to save my soul.
He came to me when I was lost and all alone
So how could I not do the same for them?

Busy life and all confusion
Rushing around to meet the goals and dreams unmet
Do we see the pain of others
But turn away as if we can forget?

Spend a day crying for a stranger.
Take the time to slow yourself and experience it.
What if your tears and prayers are
What it takes to help them live again?

[Guest]

Just reading the three words, made me think of how I use to cry for lots of people. I even cried when I kept hearing voices in my head, telling me of things that I didn't even see before. Where you hear a voice say, I had to do it, my sister needed a blood transfusion. I wonder if blood transfusions could ever help those who have immune diseases- (not HIV) But something else. I keep wondering why did those voices speak to me, why did they tell me about myself and of others who needed blood. I felt so lonely that day I spoke to my sister and she understood that I had three voices fighting in my head... I would cry for a stranger, I've done it before, and I might do it in my life again sometime.

[Thunderbird]

I work on the phone all day trying to help people save their homes from this crisis we're in. Trust and believe I've heard some things that have brought tears to the eyes. People's lives are so often very complex. I think the story I heard of a woman's son's death and what he said to her when he died was one of the most impacting lately. He said, "You know all those times we get into fights over little things, Mom? We're not going to be having any more of them now," then died from a heart attack in her kitchen. She was an elderly lady who couldn't have been far from the end of her days herself but it was just... I don't know, a touching tale the way she told it.

And the wording and expression there was really well developed too. Thanks for this one An!

[Andolyn]

Dear Grandma,
I can't begin to tell you how I miss you.
And I can't begin to describe how I've needed you.
I guess that will never change.

Dear Grandma,
A lot has happened lately.
Your "Little Angel" finally tied the knot
With that handsome man I used to bring to your house.
But you knew that already, didn't you?

Dear Grandma,
Two months after our wedding, we got pregnant!
Our little one was strong, and we were thrilled.
But it didn't last.
And I'm hurting so much.

Dear Grandma,
I guess God needed my baby for something special.
Yesterday, I learned He had taken him Home.
His little heart had stopped
And it hurts so very much.

Dear Grandma,
You would know my pain if you were here.
You've lost that now, and I'm so thankful for that,
But I could really use a word of encouragement from you.
That lack hurts too.

Dear Grandma,
Even though I know it's not my fault,
I can't silence the pounding thoughts
Of, "What did I do wrong?"
And that hurts.

Dear Grandma,
I saw a baby today.
My mom mentioned his cute little feet,
And I remembered that God would have made my baby's feet this week.
And it hurt.

Dear Grandma,
My husband cries for our child.
He doesn't show his pain much.
But he has today.
His pain hurts too.

Dear Grandma,
My baby was only seven weeks old,
But he was still mine.
I miss him so much,
And it hurts.

Dear Grandma,
We named him Lonnie Michael.
Lonnie: my dad, your son.
Michael: your son you lost as a baby.
Naming him helped, but it still hurts.

Dear Grandma,
My only comfort lies in that
When God had finished holding my son,
He passed him right to you.
That part doesn't hurt.

Dear Grandma,
For whatever reason,
I wasn't allowed to keep my baby,
and I've never felt worse pain in my life.

But I'll be alright
As long as you hold him tight
And love him until I get there.

That's the biggest favor your "Angel" will ever ask of you,
And I know it's one you'll happily keep.
My Dear, Dear Grandma.

[PopeAlessandrosXVIII]

I fought with myself for a while about responding to this, seeing as the feeling behind it are quite sad, and for the most part, something one would wish to forget. I know it's bee a while, and I can only pray that enough time has past that I'm not opening up old wounds.

That said, I think this last poem was brilliant, and in fact, i think it would make a beautiful song. Perhaps one with a piano and harp, or better, a dulcimer. I can not say I understand your pain, but at the very least, this poem stand here today as lovely and sorrowful as the day it was written, and is a gift to the world and all who read it.