I wrote a post on LinkedIn about my last phone call with my son–the one I didn’t know was my last phone call before his death by suicide. A lovely woman named Catriona Nicholls from Dublin, Ireland wrote this poem below.
She wrote it out right then on my post like my son Charles did when lyrics came to him. No real editing or overthinking it, just writing it out. It reminded me of him and how he operated.
Poem by Catriona Nicholls
I’m sorry I didn’t pick up that day,
I would have if I knew it would turn out that way,
In that moment I was just trying to survive,
I thought we had tomorrow, that you’d be alive,
If I had known that you felt so low,
If I had known that you’d planned to go,
I would have done anything to keep you here,
You were everything that I held dear,
I would have loved your pain away,
To keep you here just one more day,
I would have wiped the tears from your face,
I would have gladly taken your place,
My heart has ached from such regret,
An ocean created in the tears I’ve wept,
A mother should never have to say goodbye,
To such a precious, beautiful boy,
I tried my best to do what was right,
And that meant that I couldn’t always hold you tight,
That I had to let you fail and fall,
So you could learn to stand tall,
The hardest thing for a parent is to step back,
To allow their child to go off track,
And hope that they recover their way,
And find their way back someday,
To accept there are limits to what we can do,
To wait for a lost child to find their way through,
I hope that you have found the peace,
In your eternal sleep.
A poem inspired by your post. X
About “To a Parent with a Broken Heart”
This poem is offered for those carrying the heavy load of love and loss. It recognises the brokenness while also tracing the quiet light that remains, reminding us that even in grief’s shadow, love still whispers through.
To a Parent with a Broken Heart
I feel your grieving, heart laid bare,
pieces scattered; your lot unfair.
Yet each fragment, though fragile, shines,
resilience stitched by love’s designs.
Your angel child, though gone from sight,
dwells in memory, a quiet light.
In laughter caught, in whispers faint,
in all the love your heart can paint.
Each tear a bridge, each sigh a thread,
connecting worlds where you are led.
The joins of grief, so tender, true,
etched with courage in all you do.
Though nights are long and shadows deep,
their presence lingers—it does not sleep.
In dreams, in stars, in softest air,
your dearest whispers: “I am there.”
Your love endures beyond the pain,
a sacred flame that shall remain.
Though broken, your heart bears a light,
turning grief’s darkness into sight.
So let each memory softly bloom,
a garden bright within the gloom.
Even in sorrow, love will find
its way to warm the grieving mind.
Now fragments found, arranged anew,
love, hope, and courage form the glue.
Your heart, though changed, beats strong and true,
a living flame that carries you.
Whispered Reflection:
This poem reaches out to a heart shattered by loss, respecting each fragile fragment. Through love, courage, and the passage of time, these pieces are held together, forming a heart that is different but radiant in its endurance. The seams themselves seem to glow with quiet light, as if each tender join has been traced with gold. Even in sorrow, love persists, shaping beauty from what has been broken and reminding us that what remains can shine in its own gentle way.
Beautiful Tony. Thank you for sharing