Grief

Grief

Grief doesn’t hide.

Grief doesn’t even really lurk.

Grief . . .

is always there.

Walking with me.

Talking with me.

In every breath I take,

with every move I make.

He’s there.

My ever-present Companion, Grief.

For the longest time I argued with him,

fought against him,

tried to get rid of him.

He wouldn’t go.

He barely even acknowledged me or my ideas.

He overshadowed every area of my being,

and my life.

I was so afraid of him.

Then came the morning that I stopped.

I stopped trying to change him from the creature he is.

And I just let him BE.

But with boundaries and guidelines.

Me: “Obviously you are not leaving.

So we are going to establish some basic ground rules for your presence in my life.”

Grief is always with me

– still.

It’s been an adjustment for him to learn his place and times.

He doesn’t get to have all-consuming authority over me.

We’ve worked out this compromise.

He can sit with me over a cup of coffee or a glass of tea.

He can visit with me on the porch, or at night in the dark.

He can walk with me through the living, but in this

– he must be more quiet.

Life moves forward

– even with Grief.