by any other name
grief looks a lot like recognition.
a familiar face, a familiar voice
and suddenly, no time has passed.
the days have gone by but the feelings have not.
even in death, life goes on.
grief sounds a lot like
a forgotten melody that only you know.
with each reminder, something breaks.
because you can never hear it
for the first time again.
even in death, life goes on.
grief tastes a lot like sawdust.
every morsel goes down
with difficulty. even in this moment,
the human body demands upkeep.
shouldn’t the banal needs of breath, food, water vanish?
but even in death, life goes on.
grief smells a lot like neglect.
untended house,
unkempt people.
a life unlived,
a life passing by,
while the earth continues to turn.
even in death, life goes on.
grief feels a lot like love.
even in the shadow of guilt,
righteous frustration,
demands for recompense,
the five stages,
grief feels a lot like love.
even in death, life goes on.
but some part of you stays
tethered to this moment,
a hook embedded in a corner
of your heart, until the
right moment yanks
and you are here again.
twenty-one,
dealing with growing up
while someone else never will.