Poem: The Progression of Grief

Early in the morning, the dawn is cold and still.
Three birds fly silently north
and you watch them, stock still from the summit.

You breathe deeply and the cold air cuts into your lungs,
a beautiful pain, like love, life giving and sometimes painful,
essential and all to brief, no matter whether it lasts

a week or a lifetime.

Madness sends you out here, to the cold, so harsh
it leaves ice on your beard and your tears freeze,
your own warmth not enough to melt them.

But the day will come. It will they say
turn warmer, above freezing perhaps, warm enough
to melt the ice, warm enough to feel the sun

that has been so long cold.

About this poem

Inspired  by (and title blatantly stolen from) a blog post by my friend Denise Gainey, who recently lost her mother. Her journey brought to mind my own this past year, with the loss of not just my parents, but other things as well. It made me think of the the ups and downs of grief, and the promises of…. not an end to it, but a lessening,

If you have suffered loss of someone dear, I’d suggest going back and reading the past six months of Denise’s blog. It’s inspiring, and she captures the emotions of the journey not just well, but in a way that reminds us that we grieve because we love. And the grief is worth having loved that deeply.

Tom