11 May 2023: Learning to grieve

Learning to grieve

~ by Ron Beard, March 2023
 
The woman whose daughter dies
the man whose wife passes
the child who loses a parent
the circle of friends
​    finding one chair empty
 
We learn how to grieve from them
even as we fail again and again
numb, afraid to open to the loss
of father, mother, sister, brother, 
​     child, friend, partner, lover
 
We learn from the horse nudging
the body of the fallen 
nickering
as the wind comes up
stirring the trees 
​     at the edge of the field
 
from the dog who lies on the grave 
from the line of elephants
who visit the dead
​     trumpet and sway
 
from the icicle 
in full sunlight
letting go 
​     one tear at a time

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