In the Weight of Loss and Life's Heavy Shadows
A poem about getting older and an unknown woman
The Bowed Head, Captive of Fatigue
The weary steps of generations,
leaving only breathless exhaustion.
The crushing weight
of sorrowful thoughts.
The aching afflictions
of aging.
The furrowing lines
of wrinkled expression.
The screaming void
of a lost spouse.
The daughter’s uneven battle
on cancer’s field.
The soul-wrenching absence
of lost friends.
The incomprehensibility
of the modern world.
The failing sight
and hollow roar of hearing,
Against the mind’s sluggish grasp
and the heart’s restless beating,
That still says,
I love you.
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This poem is written as a response to a prompt on Rattle.com, where I had to put words to a for me unknown person s life. I found this expressive photo of a woman on unsplash, and I gave her a story!
About the Creator
Henrik Hageland
A poet, a writer of feelings and hope. A Dane and inhibitant of the Earth thinking about what is to come.
A good story told or invented. Human all the way through.
Want to know more? Visit Substack , my YouTube Channel or TikTok.
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More stories from Henrik Hageland and writers in Poets and other communities.
FPS: The Last Flame Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first Winners Announcement of the year and to the final challenge in the Fall Poetry Series. The Last Flame invited writers to sit with endings, using fire as a central image to consider what remains when something burns out: ash, warmth, memory, silence, or the faint promise of what comes next. The strongest pieces treated endings as gradual rather than sudden, allowing them to flicker, dim, and linger.
By Vocal Curation Team4 days ago in Resources
Comments (8)
Congratulations on your 3rd place on the weekly leaderboard
Really touching and beautiful
This was moving and heartfelt. Your poem truly touched me.
Great poem! Confronting the Leaderboard place also!!🎉🎉🎉
This is awesome! I hope you win! Hugs!
Really loved the hopeful and optimistic ending. I feel like even in the darkest of times, we still search for love. Wishing you all the best.
This was so poignant and emotional. Loved your poem!
Oh wow Henrik - this was so stark and touching. A sad but somehow hopeful narrative. Beautiful and hard hitting 💜c