Yesterday, I sat down to pray because I’ve felt off and a little down all week. As I prayed, I realized I am grieving a number of things. One of my uncles passed away in September and other family members are dealing physical or mental health issues. The cumulative effect impacts my mood, sleep, and energy throughout the day.
After my dad passed away about 15 years ago, I wrote a poem entitled “Grief” to capture my experience. Since I’ve been grieving lately, my mind turned to this poem, which was in my book The Wind and the Shadows and my chapbook The State of Mercury.
Grief
Stepping out for a walk,
I see the fog is back.
You never know when it will come,
when the clouds will settle heavily,
blocking out the sun
from the sky to the ground.
It rolls in softly.
Almost before you notice,
it permeates everything,
and the chill is beneath your skin.
When will it lift?
No one can say.
As it comes, it goes.
It always evaporates
after awhile.
The last particles of mist
sparkle as they dance
and sublimate in the sun.
Until then,
I’ll just have to walk
in it,
keeping the company
of the silhouettes
that appear, memory-like,
in the vapor.
A Wandering Minstrel 