The Rules of Engaging Grief

I wrote this poem a couple of days ago, reflecting upon a relationship that ended. Loss might not be really loss when we consider how we grow in loss — even from the tragic variety.

Tingle of Loss

Do you remember
When we secured
Two skiffs off-shore
Above the deep?

We exchanged
Hemp-pull through fingers
Straining to secure balance
In such fragile barks.

It was then for a time
We brushed eternity,
Before releasing,
As we drifted apart.

What puzzles me –
As a limb lost still tingles,
So too my hands
That once pulled hemp.

Divine Love might be the same –
As determined I am, or you,
To slip the knot, there is a sort of
Union sustained in separation.

So before you exchange
Strands of rope – a word of caution,
Realize you remain together
Long after in the tingle of loss.