The Abecedarian Path

After the storm there is no calm -

broken things litter the byways,

creating mountains out of the wreckage.

Desperate times do not call for action but acceptance.

Each step must be planned.

Forget all you know about recovery and instead be at peace -

Grief is a thing of stone,

hard and unyielding, it cannot be smoothed or cajoled.

Instead it must be courted and chiselled down to a small pebble.

Keep it in your pocket like a charm,

let it weigh you down and ground you to the here and now.

Make it your friend -

never discard it.

Only remember that it must not rule you.

Peace takes time,

quiet is not the same thing.

Read between the lines -

stay the course and the sun will shine again.

That is what people will tell you.

Unfortunately, they do not say that it will shine through a new lens.

Veiled in the loss, it will be dim at first.

What was will no longer be.

Xenial to horror, life is adept at forcing adaptation.

You cannot be blown away or taken under.

Zero in on the future; grief is but a pebble,