Presence in absence
grief is a season that keeps
its own calendar
that ebbs and surges
with the gravity of loss
the broken heart
now an inconstant satellite
circling the empty space
where the beloved once moved
5 thoughts on "Presence in absence"
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Lovely, Jennifer. Lovelier still to see you here again.
This poem conveys in so few words the magnitude of the sorrows and bewilderments that come with profound loss. A body in orbit suddenly denied its gravitational primary is powerful a metaphor for this. So affecting. Well done.
compact grief poem! well done.
So well done! I cannot remember where I read it or heard it, but grief was described as “love with nowhere to go.” I think you’ve captured that.
I shared a grief poem last year; it’s about Guenivere and Jackie Kennedy (the Camelot thread). I said, “Grief sweeps with a wire broom.” But THIS —
grief is a season that keeps
its own calendar
You are so correct. I feel like that should be cross stitched on a sampler! There’s no rushing it. I am saddened when I hear someone say to a grieving person, “You should be over that by now.” Uh Uh. That crosses a boundary that shouldn’t be crossed. We each get to process in our own way and in our own time, and you’ve captured that.
Thank you for sharing this.
Absolutely, you have captured the strangeness of time and waves of grief so well, thanks for being here.