Welcome. This is a new series of unpublished poetry called Bloom: A season of grief and gratitude. The free introduction to this series is here. I hope these poems touch something inside your heart beyond words and weave a tapestry of connection between all of us. 💗
Hello.
I wrote this poem less than a year after my Dad passed away. He was my cheerleader. The person I’d call when I needed to feel safe, my hiking buddy, airport ride, and dinner date. His goofy Dad jokes never failed to make me laugh; he knew how to lighten the mood without discounting the heaviness of my heart.
“My life is a sinkhole
I said,
filled with loss
and uncertainty
You are safe,
you said
Your life is held
by a steady,
strong love”
When I bought my first house in a sketchy area of town, it was falling apart and needed more repair than I knew how to do on my own. I had a vision for the home it could become and my Dad was right by my side, ripping up old carpet, sanding the hardwood floors, putting in new windows, and fixing rusty pipes.
When he died, I lost my biggest support. This poem is an acknowledgment of the fear and anxiety I felt in the throes of grief, not sure if I’d ever feel steady on my feet again.
Floorboards
The floor creaks beneath my feet More than once I took you into the basement Together, we inspected the beams and crossbars the sinking and settling My life is a sinkhole I said, filled with loss and uncertainty You are safe, you said Your life is held by a steady, strong love Like your hands your words repaired the leaky pipes, patched the pain and added shingles to the roof of my brain so when the floods came I was warm and dry You added wood to the fireplace, kept the light going long into the night, stoked the embers of my broken heart and turned my face toward the sky Now that your bones are ash, and body gone what will I do if the floor caves in?
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