Love Poem: The Grieving
Victoria Schmidt Avatar
Written by: Victoria Schmidt

The Grieving

The Grieving 

A frenzy, a chaos of
celebration all around.
Togetherness and ritual imposed while 
inside of me a splintering

No respite, no escape from 
faces eager to connect 
to share, to love.
Grief is a mongrel here;
an agony of burden on 
the righteous shoulders of joy

I can only run, crying out,
in frantic search of

This tree, this breeze that
gives me permission 
gives me space 
to breathe 
to be

Its tapestry of lace against 
a grey ocean of sky 
shrouds me from expectation,
from judgement,
defending my right 
to grieve 
to peace

At Christmas