Too painful to separate

There were three

Roadside crosses mark the spaces

Where someone's someone breathed their last

The crosses in my head dot places and faces

Of all the someones who left this world too fast

Each scar digs a little deeper,

Than the cuts of the one before,

But girlie, your cross, it's a keeper --

A rope, a tree, and nothing more. 

...This time of year

Will always be

Yours.

The melancholy butterflies

Touch the traces

Of where you were

And where

You would have been

There's not a summer

I don't see them

And still I wonder

Why?

Sisters

Joined in

Unity

A trinity

Lost to infinity

Before they even

Knew -

Only one

Left standing

To share

The burden

Of their mother's

Pain. 

Author's Note

The title has a double meaning for me. I cannot bear the thought of the separation of either the poems or the sisters ... take it as you wish.
Stock artwork and one print from https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/177276883/three-sisters-at-sunset-art-print

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

I probably don't fully understand this, but I know the pain of losing a sibling. In my case, the loss of my younger brother. With twins or triplets, the pain must be magnified. What can we do after such a loss but carry on, sometimes with pieces of ourselves missing. The roadside crosses make me sad. Too much empathy, I guess.

[emmajoy]

Oh my... your words truly hit my heart and mind. I understand far too well. Tis too easy to be drowned in one's own sadness that eyes and ears close to other people's wretchedness. But.. each set of your incredibly empathic pieces create a trinity i've rarely seen within poetry. Tis beautiful sadness.

' The burden ~ Of their mother's Pain. ' And that's so very true.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you for your kind review

[Lydia Shutter]

Heartbreaking and melancholy words. When a sister dies, it breaks the heart of the other sister...and if the mother is still alive there is nothing that can assuage the wound. Written so honestly and with true emotion. Powerful. Lydi**

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you so much

[Onlyme]

Lyn your poems. Really leave marks on your heart and soul. As you read them and feel them express themselves deep within you the reader. They feel what you feel and the depth of hurt and loss. And longing for these dear loved ones. Who are never far away from you in your thoughts and heart daily or nightly. Lyn, you have a beautiful way of expressing your emotions and words. Profoundly tender and touching. Deep and passion. Dawn.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you very much for taking the time.

[Onlyme]

Thinking of you Lyn. Dawn and your most welcome.

[barleygirl]

Of all the "combination" poem-sets you've offered, this one feels the most cohesive (of those I've read). Each of your poems here offers a unique slice of life, yet also very entwined with the others. I love the way you say you cannot bear the separation of these poems (or any of your poem-sets). This is something unique about you that I didn't know. I will forever look at your poem-sets differently now! *smile* As for your overall message, I guess I'm very jaded becuz I do not feel the same longing as you describe. The last six lines of the last poem are gut-punching tho (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you. Yes I understand. It is sometimes hard to completely empathize when something is far removed from our reality. I have experienced way too many suicides and young sudden deaths in my lifetime. Some of them have been very close to me emotionally. My heart aches for their mothers. And of course, that longing for a sister always comes through

[Neville]

A very moving Lynesque trilogy here we have.... A terrible set of tragedies too.... Makes one want to weep.... N

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you so much for stopping in

[Neville]

My pleasure in a funny kind of way... I hope you know what I mean Lyn..... Neville

[Crowley]

Its a good day when I can come to one of your pieces and find three. The love and pain do pour from each and every one though differently in each as well. While all are equally significant, I like the first one the best, but they do go better as a matching set. Longing and sad tribute to those lost and the love and memories that remain. Great work.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you so much. I do appreciate

[h d e rushin]

one thing I've noticed about a poets pain......We scream out that "you cant possibly hurt more than me.
No way, no how! Loss is the one thing we all have in common, like waking up to heavens light or welcoming the new day. Yet the "painful" is not lost at the crosses of the imagery in the beginning.
I felt this one deep Lyn......just as you meant it....dana

[Lyn Anderson]

I am so glad you got exactly what I intended. Our grief unites us - - each of us with our own crosses to bear

[Great Aunt Astri]

I can see that this trio of poems has great depth. I think it is clever that each poem has a different style, and yet forms that 'trinity' that is so important. Two sisters gone, yet you still have a connection. Very poignant, written with sadness and love. The last three lines of 'The mother's pain' has universal connotations. I wish you well.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you for taking the time and reading between the lines

[Great Aunt Astri]

You are welcome.

[Einstein Noodle]

;( ..........i so hear the voice in this poem ...so odd how "that" time of year brings memories of a lost loved one automatically .... not like looking at a date on a calendar and thinking "Oh" ...its Nature's Cycle of seasons that does it softly whispering until one says "Oh" ... its was this time of year :( peace and comfort Lyn!
E.

[Lyn Anderson]

You don't even realise it's that day or the other. It just happens.

[Einstein Noodle]

yes! it does ;( love to ya Lyn!