Be Gentle with Yourself in Grief

(Part 3 of 4 in the “Grief in a Season of Joy” series)

Be gentle with yourself in grief
You cannot hurry it along by tackling it all at once
You cannot sweep it away without so much as a glance
You cannot dam it in an ever-increasing reservoir

If grief is to pass, it must pass through you
And on its way it may alter the course of a thing or two
Or abruptly turn the whole damn river around
In any case, you will continue on

For some a slow drip carves out new possibilities
For some a torrent will sweep away things once clung to
For some a steady flow will deposit things unimagined
For all, grief must and will pass

So be not afraid on account of grief
It means no harm as it seeks a path through and onward
To the Gatherer of All Tears, who wipes each one away
And builds for us a city where tears flow no more

© 2019 Jacqueline Tisthammer. All Rights Reserved.