Sometimes

Sometimes

Jacqueline N Kumar

Sometimes
you need to sit
in the darkness and let it
take you.
Sometimes you know
it’ll take you
whether you let it
or not.

Sometimes you need
to sit in the darkness.

While there,
stay vigilant.
Look for something,
anything,
that looks like light.

When you see it,
throw out both your hands.
Grab on
with all your might.
Consume the
light or
let it
consume you.
Either works.
Don’t let go.

Hang onto
the light
like a lone
piece of driftwood
in a harsh,
unfeeling, stormy
sea.

Hold on with both hands.

You don’t know
when the light will
grow.
you don’t know when
dawn will
overtake
the dark.
You don’t know
you don’t get to know.

Just hold onto the light.

Transitions GriefCare’s annual Lights of Remembrance event was hosted on December 6 and 8, 2022.

Families and community members were able to honor loved ones and acknowledge their strength as a community of grievers. Friends and strangers gathered for a common purpose, stopping to reflect along the illuminated pathways of the Transitions LifeCare campus to share stories and memories and contribute to a community art project. Despite overcast skies, nearly 300 attendees gathered over two evenings, warmed by cider and the continued connection with their loved ones. In the darkness of winter and grief, this event offered an experience of light and hope.

Jacqueline Nader Kumar is a PhD student researching teachers’ experiences, relationships, retention, and burnout in K-12 schools. She has a husband and a young daughter, the light of her life. Her mom, Ann Marie, passed in May 2022. Jacqueline is continuously guided and inspired by her mom’s unconditional love, giving and compassionate spirit, and desire to protect those most vulnerable among us.