FLOWER under ether
by Lisa Cramer
portfolio special mention call 'Urbanautica Institute Awards 2025', 2025
Category: Memories and Traditions
It has taken a long time to realise my true purpose is to carry grief.
I married at 22 years of age. Sixteen years later, after the survival of several failed IVF attempts, the dream finally collapsed. At the age of 40, I had to let go of the dream, and the road to acceptance began. It wasn’t, however, easy for so many years, especially seeing other couples raising their children with such ease.
We learned together to live in the presence of absence. Through this often-painful process, something beautiful emerged between us. Grief became a gift that, by sharing our story, reveals a transcendent love that hovers just above the darkness that constantly pools beneath us.