An Outsider Looks at Mourning
Tiffany Michele Gibbs©
My heart aches
Unreal
A body
Once full of life
Now a shadow of once was.
For me, it ends.
For one who mourns,
It is
A missing place at the table
A void where there was a hand to hold
Lips to kiss
Arms to grab
Shared laughs gone silent
And the searing echo of memories
His place in the bed
Sheets you refuse to change because
It smells like he is still there.
It is
A reminder in the face of children
In the ears that point slightly
In eyes the color of the ocean
In legs that slightly bow
Crooked grin
Cleft chin
It is
The inspiration to still live
With a piece of the heart missing
Still beating
Maybe not as quick
A prayer for strength in weakness
The acknowledgment of anguish
A new pain of healing
The excitement of feeling
When for so long a part had gone numb
It hurts
But he is here
She is here
We live.
Dameon and Tiffany Gibbs Author Blog 
What a beautiful poem. Your imagery really immerses me in the moments of loss.
Thank you Kourtney! I was inspired by friends and their loss and how for those around them, it often ends at the funeral, but for those touched by loss, it’s a process, it’s addressing the loss in moments, hours, days, years.