The Enormity of Grief

Grief

The enormity of grief is not known until we lose a loved one,
It is a process that is never truly completed, although it is done,
I mean, we feel somewhat better as time goes on,
But we are never the same, and the hurt is never all gone,
The what ifs and the vision of how it would have been,
Visit us in our dreams, with questions of why and when,
It’s like the pages in a book were abruptly tore away,
And our ending is rewritten, the very next day,
Even in the situation of terminal illness, when we know,
Are we ever truly prepared to let them go?
When their health declines, and their quality of life is no more,
We start grieving the loss of the one we knew before,
The realization of upcoming loss doesn’t make it less difficult,
Just gives us additional time to properly deal with it,
The grieving begins before the loved one is gone,
It is a lifeline to them with just a thread to hang on,
We learn to ebb and flow just like the tide,
It is an emotional and unpleasant rollercoaster ride,
In a disoriented first year, celebrating every holiday is new,
How to proceed is a mystery without any clue,
We go through the motions, but our hearts are numb,
Memories pound our conscious like a relentless drum,
Some thoughts are happy, and some are of sickness,
Of the horrible diseases we had to witness,
By the grace of God, we will see our loved one again,
In a place of rest, void of pain and sin.

Tammy Harvey
1/14/2023