Thursday, April 3

Invitation, Ritagail Burleson.

Content warning: trauma, abuse, mental health

When The Eclipse Departs

‍‍One warm March night

I sat 

Alone 

With the reddened moon, 

The sparkling stars, 

And the Eternal One. 

And gazing through the stars 

I nearly forgot the heartaches

That have broken my soul. 

Three of them loom this April: 

The thirtieth year of

Landing

In a Church where I’d hoped

To find a Home. 

And thirty years of being barred

From studying art and religion 

Together,

Because, the professor said,

For the two to work together 

Would be just “too hard.”

But that would be okay, 

Because my new family

Of the Church

Would welcome my art—

But, no—

It reminded them 

Too much of their internal war,

Even though I hadn’t taken any part.

And then, there’s the fiftieth 

Year since the party given me

For turning fourteen 

In the mental health facility—

There because of violence done

In our family. 

They found I wasn’t to blame

But laws weren’t the same

As they are in these years, 

So I was sent back with:

A guitar, 

Encouragement to keep creating,

Three volumes of Middle-earth,

And once more 

Alone 

In

My

Tears.

(The reason for the violence,

The accusations,

Proved groundless

Just this past year.)

Now here I am old,

Tired, worn,

Wishing I’d never been born,

Except—

I pick up a volume of Middle-earth

And a volume of Tolkien’s art 

And a volume of the walls

Of Britain’s churches 

That used to blossom in “folk art”—

And back on my porch step 

As I watch the dimming stars

And the brightening Moon

I seem to hear the Eternal One 

Sing to me

“Thou hast survived Mt. Doom.

Come, My child, leave them to 

Their wars and strifes

And dance through My stars 

To Eternal Life.”

And so, marking the places 

Where Sam appears, 

He who journeyed along for Love

In the realms of Middle-earth,

I prepare to celebrate

And thank the Eternal One

For these anniversaries of

All

Of my births.


When Ritagail Burleson isn’t in Middle Earth (or sometimes Oz) she’s trying to figure out how best to use the creative gifts the Eternal One gave her to leave something encouraging behind for future generations.

You can learn more about her here.

Next
Next

Wednesday, April 2