Loss

A friend of mine lost her son.

It’s not just that something dear has been lost,
it’s also that something new has come.
Something so thick and heavy
you have to push your way through it
as you sleepwalk through the house.

When you pass his room
it grabs you by the chest and squeezes
until it forces tears from your eyes.
You think it will take you.
Sometimes you wish it would,
but it refuses.

Well wishers feel it.
They too must fight against it,
but they will eventually win.
There will be no winning for you.
It will be your life-long companion,
this thing you can’t expel.
This thing you will not name.