Sorrow

[tigremere]

My mother died nineteen years ago this month.  I still miss her.  This poem was written after my daughter in law's mother was killed by a drunk driver in a terrible motorcycle accident two years ago.  The grief I witnessed from her reminded of the pain that I had felt so long ago.  Two colleagues also recently buried their mothers and I shared this with them.  Now I am sharing it again.

Nevermore

My story now begins in the middle,
the beginning has been lost.
How will I understand the rest?

Sorrow heavy as an anvil on my chest
heart empty as a paper sack
after the groceries have been put away

Once standing between me and eternity,
she departed from this earth.
Motherless, I mourn this day.

In deep canyons carved by grief,
heart cries out and echoes return
across the hollowness inside.

I have learned the truth.
Immortality is beyond my reach;
I am a child nevermore.