October 19, 2013. We walked across the street from Mass. General Hospital into a new life. My question: Is there always darkness before light? Night skies before the dawn. In utero before light at the end of the birth canal. Sleep before the alarm sounds. Death before new life.
Six minutes minus a heart beat. Thirty-six hours of induced comatose state. You suspended somewhere; eyes shut, machines whirring. Me existing in light which felt like the darkest of times.
You returned to us and the morning sun. Five days later, we walked home. Six years later, we are together still. Thankful for every day.
dark in chrysalis
strength builds, body renewing
life’s splendor springs forth
Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. Bjorn is hosting Haibun Monday and asks us to write about new beginnings. Haibun: 2 to 3 tight paragraphs of prose (must be true) followed by a haiku. The condominium building we live in is actually located directly across from the main campus of Massachusetts General Hospital.
lillian the home poet 
I like how you and your husband were given a second chance at love and life.
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A wonderful haibun and terrific haiku. Your ode to second chances is beautiful, spreading some of your own white light onto the darkness that clings to every horizon these days.
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So happy for you and your hubby and so glad you were so near the hospital. A very inspiring haibun, Lillian.
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Thank you. Oh yes….we are truly thankful for every day!
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🙂
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Love your latest post! Love you two!
Jaye
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Fifty years this February….remembering you in those early days❤️
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There seems to be so much sorrow around the holidays this year, it is good to hear your story of good news. Thank you for sharing!
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I think the holidays are the most difficult time of year for some people. My best friend lost her husband this year….just a week before Christmas. And Toni, who posted to this pro,pt, lost her husband on December 22nd. My heart goes out to people who struggle through the times when it seems like the rest of the world is so joyful.
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What a traumatic experience you had, and how great the joy of renewed life and hope. Well done!
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Thank you! And oh yes….truly grateful for every day, every day!
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What a happy ending to a great beginning!
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We are truly blessed that all turned out alright. For many who suffer a cardiac arrest, the outcome is not a positive one. We are indeed, thankful for every day!
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I am so glad that, in your case, this ended well. How grateful you must be for those years gained.
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So very grateful!!!!
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Beautiful and poignant memories of that difficult and scary time!
Sent from my iPhone
>
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It was indeed….for our entire family! And the prayers from you and so many, plus wonderful doctors and new techniques….we are truly blessed to have every day we do. Sending you much love, Nancy!
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Those second chances are meant to be grabbed with both hands, and you and your husband have certainly done that, Lill. I love reading about your travels and adventures together, and I’m so glad you survived the darkest of times.
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Thank you, Kim. We arrived in San Diego yesterday….spending the next two months in a lovely rental apartment here to escape some of Boston’s winter. We walked three blocks to the grocery store today…..bought some provisions as we do just “live” here, making most of our meals as we would in Boston. I was thinking as we were walking through the grocery store together (since George is the cook, he usually shops alone), how wonderful it was to do this mundane task with him. How blessed we are that we can be together here.
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Enjoy your time in San Diego, Lill. Is there a big difference in temperature? Have you been there before or is this another adventure into the unknown?
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Oh. What an experience that will be treasured forever. Perhaps almost kissing death reminds us of the sweetness of living. That haiku is so tender and sweet, Lill.
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Thank you for this reply…..we just take so much for granted and when something like this happens, we understand that every moment is a gift.
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this is so true.
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Thankful for second chances, too.
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Yes! We don’t realize how much we take for granted until it is suddenly at risk of being gone.
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What a wonderful haibun Lillian.
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Thank you, Linda. It is a truth in our lives…my husband and I are truly thankful for every day.
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🙏🏻❤️
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How wonderful to get such a new chance… and coming from Toni’s writing it was such a contrast.
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Yes. I’d posted mine before I saw Toni’s. I think truly, if I’d seen Toni’s first, I would have done something different. I was just so shocked to read hers. Evidently many folks knew from Face Book, but I did not. And I remember she lost her mother this past year as well.
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Celebrating with you this new beginning so poignantly experienced and recorded, Lillian!
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Thank you, Lynn!
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Powerful message of despair and hope.
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Thank you. In the darkest times, we must hang on to the smallest glimmer, hoping it grows and grows and grows.
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Welcome, Lillian.
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Here’s to celebrating new beginnings!
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Amen to that! 🙂
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I love this. Perhaps the darkness is necessary for us to truly appreciate the light.
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I think you are right. We take so much for granted in our everyday lives.
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a date with death enhances the true value of life … beautifully expressed!
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Thank you! And oh yes….since that happened, I truly wake up every morning and say or think, “thankful for every day.”
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yes it adds new texture to our life 🙂
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Very beautiful. I remember you have written of this before.
BTW: typo “heat beat” –> “heart beat”, I think.
Oh yes, and concerning the “ugly American”, also, rarely judged as an American because my languages were good and my manners so mixed after too many countries. But ugly, yes. Smile
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Oh my goodness! Thanks so much for the heads-up on the typo! Just corrected it.
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