Presence

It's okay to lean on us

we are not here to judge

We are companions on a road

not traveled well or long

We are not here to evaluate

you and your grief

Because these ways are many

and vary in each person

Length of time, type of care,

all the baggage of our

Previous messy selves comes

out and is made known

Grief runs out like rivers,

the bowl of tears to drink

We wonder how we'll ever go on,

how we'll press through

Nothing is normal, or the same

as it once was and we

Are forced into spaces of

being reborn into a new world

One without the touch, care,

the routine we had and yet

We must press on, drink deep

of this cup we never wanted

So we empty it, empty ourselves

and trust we have done what

We needed to do so we may

somehow find the way again

Because in loss we learn the

precious gift of life in relationship

With others and if we stop,

if we only stay here we are

Robbed of experiencing the full

blossom of life lived to the brim

Even Jesus made every day count

not looking ahead frozen

By the days loss, but seeing the

next time we will all meet again