Originally written some time after Jodie died May 16, 2014.

Relativity of Grief

As I now face my days
on my own I think of
all those also alone
I did not suffer
a divorce, my actions
did not cause
remorse

A deserted bowl
awaits a cup of kibble
a lonely leash
hangs forsaken from a screw
no longer do I have to
shut the gate
to stop the terrorisation
of the neighbourhood

autumn afternoon skies
are watched through
the window
from my bed

My best friend is dead

And I wore my poker
face as the vet
explained: my friend’s life
could no longer be sustained

Her head I held
in my arm, death
is not docile,
but all was calm

My companion of a mere nine years
what is that
against a forty year marriage
the coffin of an infant
the destitute
disabled
deserted