Grief

Grief is patient and unwieldy,
So much of a thing and lingering there
And here in a breath, in a moment, in a whiff
That incites memory and oh the weight.

Grief is obtrusive and deafening,
A ringing in the ears to signal all is not well,
As if that were not already felt to the bone,
It is brutal and honest and personal.

Grief is bitter and necessary,
Like un-sugarcoated medicine or a splint,
A reminder of need and lack and pain
And, in dear unforeseen time, of mending.

May we meet and be met with grace in our grief.
​May we meet and be met by grace.