The Reality of Loss

The reality, sinks in
languidly, achingly

You feel stuck in quicksand

Slowly, inevitability
you are swallowed up
by pain, sorrow
loneliness

Everything, everyone seems different
When people speak to you,
you struggle to comprehend.

Your mind, your heart
struggle to absorb the trauma
that struck you without warning

It damages you physically,
Personally, unapologetically

You try, but can’t
escape the nightmare
that’s taken over
your life

When loneliness sets in,
you aren’t able to reach out
You can’t meet the looks
of pity that follow you,
words, meant as whispers,
singe your ears

On rare occasions
when you feel comforted,
you find it’s never enough

How, you wonder,
will I ever survive this?

There is no set time
No magical cure
Loss is as hollow
as it sounds

More hurtful than one
might imagine,
a defect of this world,
an imposition on our happiness.

A jolt to our humanity,
it wills us to make uncomfortable,
unfamiliar changes

It forces us to face
what we’d rather
not face

Unfortunately without loss,
we’d never discern how much
we’ve gained

Nor appreciate how much
we have to lose

Perhaps, it’s the only way
we, as imperfect mortals
can fulfill our amazing, natural
spiritual being