I did some art therapy outside today under our big poplar tree. Â I got into this technique last fall and found it to be effective. Â I began by drawing sad, crying eyes, writing all sorts of words that came to mind. Â Tears. Loss. Â My friend. Â And then – Why?
Why her?
Why so young?
Then I thought of the Billy Joel song, “Only The Good Die Young.”
And paused.
Then, I picked up the black colored pencil. Â Held it for a moment. Â Black. Â That’s a good color for anger. Â Then wrote it out. Â ANGER.
I AM ANGRY.
Black lines followed, all over the page. Â I need more than just black, I thought. Â I paused.
Then I picked up the red pencil. Â Good color, I thought, drawing a rose with jagged petals and thorns. Â Lots of thorns.
“Only the good die young,” I hummed softly.
Why is that?
Seriously, I want to know. Â WHY?
Why is it that it seems those who die young are the good ones? Â Why is it little children get stricken with horrible diseases? Â Why is it the good ones die young? Â Friend and hairdresser extraordinaire Desiree, dead at 48. Â Cancer. Â Sweet sister-in-law, dead at 53, cancer. Â And now Susie Q. Â Dead at 55. Â Cancer.
Why in the hell is it the dark ones live to be old? Â Look at political leaders, war criminals, terrorists, the wife beaters, corrupt CEO’s and fuck, just look at the royals. Â That damn bitch queen lives forever. Â WHY? Â Where in the hell is the justice in THAT?
I don’t want to hear the good ones are the angels here to teach us about love. Â We ALL know what love is. Â If they are here to teach us love, why doesn’t Life let them stick around? Â Don’t we need MORE love in this reality? Â I mean we all know what dark is. Â We certainly don’t need any more lessons on much less examples of dark. Â Why let IT stick around?
I’ve been told “their light was needed in heaven”. Â I’ve had to hear “it was their time”. Â And I’ve had to endure listening to those speak of God’s Will as though they have first-hand knowledge of Divine Plan.
Please. Â ENOUGH.
I am GRIEVING. Â I am sad. Â I am angry. Â My sweet friend died too soon. Â PERIOD. Her partner however, who beat her regularly, gets to go on living. Â There is something just wrong about that. Â It isn’t part of God’s plan. Â And it isn’t because it was simply their time to go. Â It is because it just IS.
And sometimes what IS just fucking stinks so bad it burns a hole in your heart, forever changing you, forever leaving you with an empty response when you again ask “why?”