There are some griefs so loud
They could bring down the sky,
And there are griefs so still
None knows how deep they lie,
Endured, never expended.
~May Sarto
Sorrow does not need a safety net
the ghosts of loss and regret never do
they walk through walls
and dance on high beams with eyes closed
resilient like a Maytag appliance….they survive floods
follow us to new homes holding our hand
even as we reach out ours to the world
they watch us sleep filling our empty glass as only grief
can do
I have spent nearly 50 years holding this truth
you can try to brace yourself
or try to let it go
but it quietly waits
in the silence of knowing
and the clatter of forgetfulness
a patient child waiting to speak
whether you acknowledge it or not
it is there
a whisper of remembering
that can transfix or move you
right back to 9 years old in a waiting room
with words of sympathy upon a loved one’s lips.
