Fresh-Fallen Snow

My mother talks of grief

Like it's fresh snow

That's fallen on your sweater

You can simply brush it away

Or let it melt

Either way,

It won't last very long

A temporary thing that

One must let go

For me grief is an ocean

With turbulent tides

Of overwhelming moments

And calm waters

Of peaceful contemplation

It is never ending

Always turning always changing

You can try to push away the waves

But they will find their way back to the shore

It is easier to learn to float

And let it take you where it wills

My mother has attempted

To contain her oceans

And she views that as a strength

I'm sorry that she cannot see

The beauty in the grief

The absolute humanity

Or grieving over loss

Of remembering what has been

And what would never come

I'm grateful for my ocean heart

That ripples with a drop

That loves so deeply

One cannot measure its depth

One that can both ebb and flow

To know both pain and joy

At the same time

I'm grateful for the never ending tides

The constant give and take

The all consuming moments

Where the Earth could almost shake

And the quiet moments of stillness

Where everything's okay

One does not have to

Wipe away the grief

One can let it be

Forever if they'd like

Because storms will always happen

Even if the sky is clear

And tides will keep on turning

Even when nobody's there

Your heart will not stop loving

Even if your love's not here

I hope this helps you

Accept your grief

Like the ocean waves

That wash up on the beach

With every breath

We become something new

There's power in grief

And there's power in you