Those Pictures She Posted

You really were so beautiful

those pictures she posted crushed the breath from my chest

and I should have known better than to log on today

but I was doing okay

until

those pictures she posted left me exhausted

I could have fallen to the floor right there at my desk

by the end of the day

from holding it in

but I was doing okay

until

those pictures she posted

pushed me right back with a punch to grief

I should have blocked them from view

but I couldn’t do it

those pictures she posted

is all there is of you

 

Sideways From The Sun

This part of her planet has turned sideways from the sun

and the dark almost, but not quite, comforts as it covers her world completely

the dirt road to her destination is not lined with any illumination

the only glow comes from headlights

the car carries her further and further into the night

and for a moment she can’t tell if she’s earthbound or in flight

all she knows is that she’s moving

whether it’s a transition or transitory she can't tell
she's realising that recovery will be incremental
discovering that forbearance will be instrumental
this time round

but the sun will dismiss the dark come morning

she’ll hear the birds sing her world awake

their music a sweet relief from a night of silence that presses in

and this part of her planet now dresses in a light

that has no equal in clarity anywhere else that she’s ever seen

and she’ll continue her battle to get back to who she’s been

Mount Cotton

Somewhere buried below this tended, manicured grass lies the last of you

and somewhere on these grounds are your parents and best friend

and somewhere beyond this glass window I’m looking through

is your plaque but I won’t focus too close in case I see it

“mother, sister, daughter, wife”

in this room another life farewelled

I stand in the back left corner

and somewhere from the past it’s all now here