The Angel of Grief

‘Loss plays us like a violin, never free

of its rub. It simply lessens its intensity

till only the one closets to what was lost

can hear it. If you haven’t lost something

or someone, this will seem sad, even frightening.

But after a century of heart-time, I

went to the immortals who envy us our ability to feel

and forget.

They looked at me with their longing to be human.

And the saddest among them took my

hand and said, “I would give eternity to

live with what you’re given, and to feel

what is opened by what is taken away.’