Grief is Like a Thief

One of my most favorite poems expresses the shock of my mind, body, and spirit experienced after the first year of my husband passing.  All the counseling and support groups did not prepare me for when the numbness was gone.  It was as if all my nerve endings were firing at the same time, and everything upset me. 

I had experienced the never-ending “broken record” re-living over and over the events of those “last days.”   The numbness and disbelief had softened the remembering, but when the reality began, I had no preparation for what happened. 

Here is one of my all-time favorite poems from of my book "Leaning Into Grief: Words of Experience and Healing Poems
Chapter:
The First Anniversary (And the Next and the Next)

Anniversary

If I scream, will the deafening memories cease?

Or will I frighten the dog?

The air was stagnant with thoughts of the last days,

Leaving me crying and lonely with only the after.

Grief is Like a Thief

Grief steals the spaces

When you aren’t looking.

Filling them up

With memories,

That I want to fade or to forget.

I am bringing everything back to life.

Except you.

Amazon link to "Leaning Into Grief: Words of Experience and Healing Poems
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1661943926