Rabbi Paul Kipnes, MAJE, a popular lecturer on raising spiritually balanced, emotionally whole children, is leader of Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, California.
There is a secret life of the mourner
That most people just don’t see
There is a secret life of a mourner
Hidden, complex, and now, me.
On the outside we’re powering through
On the outside we seem sad but fine
On the outside we conquer the world
But the outside world is not mine.
Because,
There is a rip in the fabric of time
A voice no longer whispering in my ear
A brokenness amidst the apparent wholeness
Rubbing against the desire to care.
There is a secret life of the mourner
Filled with sadness, incredulity, and wonder
That counts the days since death and the burial
That tries to get through them with nary a blunder.
On the inside we’re tired of this mourning
So everyone else surely must be too
We dare not look in the mirror
For we worry what we see, so will you.
There is a secret life of the mourner
It being ragged, disheveled, and raw
A roller coaster of thoughts and emotions
We are okay, no we’re not, yes we are.
The Secret Life of the Mourner published courtesy of Rabbi Paul Kipnes.
Copyright Rabbi Paul Kipnes