soul journey 
🌿 When You Lose Someone You Love
by John O’Donohue
When you lose someone you love,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you gets fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence.
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.
Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.
There are days when you wake up happy;
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.
Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.
It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.
Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And, when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.
John O’Donohue (1956–2008)
John O’Donohue was a beloved Irish poet, philosopher, and former Catholic priest known for his profound reflections on Celtic spirituality, beauty, and the human soul. Born in County Clare, Ireland, his deep connection to the rugged landscape of the Burren shaped much of his writing.
O’Donohue held a Ph.D. in philosophical theology and combined rich scholarly insight with poetic sensitivity. His best-known work, Anam Ċara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, introduced countless readers to the soul-nourishing depth of Irish spiritual tradition. Through his poetry and prose, he invited others to embrace solitude, mystery, and the sacred rhythms of nature and life.
John O’Donohue passed away suddenly in 2008, but his words continue to inspire those seeking beauty, depth, and spiritual renewal.
The poem above, For Grief, is from John O’Donohue’s book of blessings called “To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings.”
