Mourning…

 

What is mourning

if it is not a kind of death

before death – a knowing.

And you say,

what do I know.

I know loneliness

without my children

two I have loved – half a life

which seems a lifetime – of years

in words not spoken.

Being heartbroken

by silence

this is mourning –

by day

by night

by candlelight

a loss is a loss

by death

or in life.

The loss of love

the lack of sweet kisses.

This is what mourning

truly looks like

even tears

that are wiped away

so friends do not see

the truth of it.

Doug Claybourne – inspired by “A Woodsplitter's Meditation” by Sam Hamill – from his book, “Almost Paradise”

Copyright © 2011. Doug Claybourne. All Rights Reserved.