The healing power of words

This poem is in memory of Lady, a young woman who was murdered six years ago. Her mother, a poet was interviewed on NPR tonight by Terry Gross. I was quite moved by her description of her journey through this experience and into the present.


her daughter died alone, a cord
wrapped around her neck,
alone for three days, the
phone ringing, ringing,
ringing, until the police came
and saw her through the window
and then they knew
why she had not been to
work or called her friends
or family, so unlike her.
she died alone and her mother
had nothing in her mind but
her, her last moments, the last
picture she held in her mind,
and so she did all she could do,
which was to write poem after
poem until her daughter’s life
was fully celebrated and
remembered and shared
and she could breathe again
and see the blue in the sky and the
stars at night, through
the power of words to light
up the darkness, to heal
unbearable pain.