Death a Necessary Evil...

when you lose someone you love,

your life becomes strange,

the ground beneath you becomes fragile,

your thoughts make your eyes unsure;

and some dead echo drags your voice down,

where words have no confidence,

your heart has grown heavy with loss;

and though this loss has wounded others too,

no one knows what has been taken from you,

when the silence of absence deepens.

flickers of guilt kindle regret,

for all that was left unsaid or undone.

there are days when you wake up happy;

again inside the fullness of life,

until the moment breaks,

and you are thrown back,

onto the black tide of loss,

days when you have your heart back,

you are able to function well,

until the middle of work or encounter,

suddenly with no warning,

you are ambushed by grief.

it becomes hard to trust yourself,

all you can depend on now is that,

sorrow will remain faithful to itself,

more than you, it knows its way,

and will find the right time,

to pull and pull the rope of grief,

until that coiled hill of tears

has reduced to its last drop.

gradually, you will learn acquaintance,

with invisible form of your departed;

and when the work of grief is done,

the wound of loss will heal

and you will have learned

to wean your eyes

from that gap in the air,

and be able to enter the hearth

in your soul where your loved one has awaited your return

all the time.

John O'Donohue