Followers

July 8, 2011

Absence

It’s a sharp pain
every time it hits me,
every time I realize
another way
that you’re not in our lives
anymore

A day on the calendar,
a birthday or holiday,
each time there’s something
where you’re supposed to be
and you aren’t
again

Does this go on forever?
The sudden welling-up
of eyes and emotions?
Or will time dull and numb
its piercing, wrenching crush
ever?

Life goes on without you,
but it’s diminished by the loss,
just as it was enriched
by your presence.
It never really occurred to me
before then.

17 comments:

  1. it does last...it may lessen a bit but on big days yeah its still there...

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  2. Briam said it best.

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  3. The complete emotional take over relaxes its teary grip after time. But moments will happen. Big days or just intense thoughts. Don't fight it. Feel it.

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  4. powerful and perfect expression on loss.
    well done.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I hear ya, Eric! I felt this when my granny passed... and it really sucks!
    Yes, life goes on indeed, and yet.. it's just not the same anymore...

    My prayers are with all those that have experienced this..

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  6. Great use of rhetorical question in the third stanza and the enjambment of 'anymore' in the first.

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  7. Well written piece about a subject--a pain--that has so many answers. For some of us, it does go away in time--a very long time. But we mustn't grieve too long--that's my take anyway.
    Nice writing about a tough subject!

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  8. I don't think we ever really stop missing, I know I still get choked up sometimes thinking of my grandmother. beautifully written poem, emotional

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  9. that was interesting and sparked me to write...thanks
    ZQ

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  10. It's been 23 years since my grandmother died... And it still bloody hurts! *sigh* Thank you for putting words to it!

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  11. I could so strongly feel the grief here--I'm so very sorry for your loss and pain. You did a wonderful job of expressing those feelings.

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  12. Grief can really catch you hard. For me, poetry helps...a little.

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  13. The void becomes a presence within itself. When someone so important to us leaves the pain is jarring. This was well written and makes us remember that choices we make so often effects those other than ourselves.

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  14. I recently lost my father so this poem really resonates with me. Good job.

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  15. i hope you are feeling better ~

    *hugs*

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  16. The poem conveys a powerful and emotional jist, great write..!!

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