An Ode Go Grief Poem by Shirley Harrison

You see, there are different types of grief

the grief that pulls you under

when someone you love dies without notice

a sudden shock, no last hug, no last goodbye

a darkness without hope of light



then there's the sort that leaves you feeling worthless,

anxious, angry, a different type of black

because someone you were deeply in love with

has chosen to betray you



Grief for that moment, you finally wake up at fifty years' old

and realize you have always had a strange feeling, and loneliness

around those you share the same blood with, trusted since birth

those who instead of shining light on you

have always left you in darkness

a revelation of realization, that's grief too



Grief, a word that can be used to describe

the deepest darkest moments of a human being

because once something or someone is lost

usually they can only remain in memory

memory that can burst with joy

or memory that burst your bubble every time it comes into mind



and for those who don't have memory

that's grief too, because the loss is invisible

you cannot remember what was, nor seconds after, what is



Grief, a word not one human can escape

even when we deny it's knocking on our doors or windows

our hearts and our minds, there is no escape

because once it's here, it's here





I've learnt to embrace mine

because in the end it has no rules, there aren't time limits

it doesn't just pass because we decide

humans are far more complex than that



once the heart feels like it's been ripped into two

once you feel the excruciating pain and real feelings of grief

it takes all the time it needs to repair, slowly without a limit on time.



My ode to grief...



no one knows when the pain subsides?

I only know that eventually

there will come a day we rise from slumber

feeling better, fresher and brighter



because ironically…



Grief has its life span

and in the end even grief will die.