Piping Hot Reflections

07/02/2026

01/02/2026

The ocean keeps repeating itself,
like it’s afraid you’ll fade.
I stand where water meets my ankles,
holding what the years gave me.

I shape a heart with my hands,
small enough to carry, bright enough to see.
It feels strange to offer it to the horizon,
but you always understood gestures.

Every lesson you left behind
still finds its way into my days.
I hear you in patience,
I see you in kindness I didn’t used to have.

Forgetting was never the task,
living was.
And you taught me how to stay open,
even when it hurts quietly.

The sea keeps what it takes,
and gives back what it can.
I keep you the same way.

— Silent Tears For You

24/01/2026

A row of sunflowers faces forward,
yellow heads lifted without effort.
I stand behind them with my hands in my pockets,
learning how to keep breathing.

The beginning was the shock of morning,
coffee cooling while I stared.
Everything looked the same outside,
and nothing matched inside me.

The middle is this long stretch of days,
where I function and still feel tender.
I can laugh at a memory,
then ache right after.

The sunflowers don’t apologize for blooming,
they just show up and hold their color.
I study their simple courage,
the way they keep turning toward light.

And then there’s the rest of my life—
not a threat, just a fact I carry.
A chapter that doesn’t close,
only changes its tone.

So I walk past the flowers slowly,
letting their brightness teach me patience.
Grief has seasons inside one heart,
and love stays through all of them.

— Silent Tears For You

18/01/2026

Grief doesn’t need instructions,
It needs patience and understanding.
There is no finish line here,
No point where everything resolves.

I don’t need to be pushed forward,
Or reminded how time works.
I need steady presence,
And space to breathe honestly.

Getting through doesn’t mean forgetting,
It means learning how to carry this weight.
Some days that looks like strength,
Other days it looks like rest.

I move forward in small, quiet ways,
At a pace that feels possible.
I accept help without explanation,
And release the pressure to heal quickly.

This is how I survive it,
Step by step, moment by moment.
Not getting over anything,
Just continuing through.

— Silent Tears For You

07/01/2026

Healing doesn’t follow a schedule, and that’s okay.
Care can be quiet, steady, and ongoing.
It’s a gentle reminder to keep showing up for yourself.

03/01/2026

Another year begins,
and though time moves forward,
our hearts still walk
beside those we lost

31/12/2025

When I say ‘happy new year’,
I’m not for a moment,
expecting this to occur,
for that is not possible,
a year must be all things.

Happiness must come and go,
like the tides and the winds,
just as sadness,
and all the emotions in between.

When I say ‘happy new year’,
I’m really wishing you,
a baseline of peace,
of gratitude.

Because if you can sit with these things,
for the most part,
happiness will thrive,
when it does arrive,
and sadness will know its place in the mix.

If you can nourish these things,
daily,
you will also grow hope,
for it flourishes in such soil.

And hope is the key,
to this enigmatic state
of ‘happiness’ we seek.

When I say ‘happy new year’,
I’m really wishing you more happy days,
than sad days,
more joy than misery,
more laughter than tears…
and the wisdom to accept,
that they all belong.

Happy new year, my friends.
Happy new year.

Donna Ashworth

From ‘to the women’ 📕❤️

#2026

24/12/2025

I would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of you for entrusting me with the honour of officiating your loved ones funerals in 2025. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to help create such meaningful send offs at such a difficult and sensitive time for you.

I wish you and your families all peace and comfort during the festive season and in the days that lie ahead.

21/12/2025

🌺🙏🏻