| Your heart is breaking. Love has left your life, or | | | | work, but it was what came out at the time... |
| someone you love has become ill or died. How can | | | | |
| you possibly think about writing at a time like | | | | |
| that?Not long ago, I felt the same way. I sat in my | | | | Ma Bell Lied |
| van in an airport parking lot watching the planes take | | | | |
| off; knowing inside one of those huge metal | | | | For years she's been telling me |
| machines was the man I loved. He wasn't leaving for | | | | to reach out and touch someone |
| a quick trip or even a week long trip. No, he was | | | | |
| leaving for a six weeks to a country thousands of | | | | It's almost like being there, |
| miles away from his home, his children and me.My | | | | if only you'll pick up the phone. |
| heart sank as I started the van and pulled out of the | | | | |
| parking lot. It's not like we haven't already dealt with | | | | But the whine of long-distance |
| this before. He's been on this assignment for awhile | | | | phone lines is deafening. |
| now, gone for six weeks, back for one. Regular as | | | | |
| clockwork. It's enough to drive a sane person mad. | | | | The sadness and loss of distance |
| Or drive a writer to write a sad story or poem, or | | | | cannot be quieted |
| two, or ten.I write in my journal nearly every day | | | | |
| now. Mostly I say how much I miss him and how | | | | For years she's been lying |
| angry I am our lives are being ruled by a company's | | | | to you and to me. |
| inability to know what they were getting into. But I | | | | |
| also write important things to tell him; things the boys | | | | As I said, not my best work. But it did ease the |
| have done, or the dog, or even the rat. And I'm also | | | | anger I felt towards the phone company and the |
| writing again. Not the "get it published in a magazine" | | | | connection we had. And it made me smile, which |
| kind of writing, but a "cleanse your heart of pain" | | | | helped as well.Writing heals a broken heart. No, wait, |
| kind.When my hubby first left back in May, he called | | | | that's not right. Writing makes it easier to deal with a |
| me from Heathrow Airport to let me know his flight | | | | broken heart. And writing is wonderful expression of |
| was delayed. He didn't want me to worry about him. | | | | the pain of being apart. So, when your heart is |
| The connection we had was awful. I could barely | | | | breaking, sit down and write.Dawn Arkin is an author |
| hear him and he could barely hear me. That call | | | | on |
| spawned a long angry entry aimed at the phone | | | | which is a site for Love Poetry. Her portfolio can be |
| company in my journal, and this poem. Not my best | | | | found at so stop by and read for a while. |