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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Big Reset (For KC, Rachel and Sarah)

No one escapes
The Big Reset.

Everyday we arise
and take our places
on the field of play,

running and falling,
laughing and flailing,
completely caught up
in the game.

Then,
a whistle blows
and you are called
off the field,
without regard to
your performance,
or how close you are
until you score again.

It doesn’t matter.

Death always
hangs around
claiming his
inevitable,
anonymous victories,

but when it’s someone
important to you,

then you have to
sit out the game,
watch others play,
laugh,
and score points

and all you get to do
is cry,
grieve and
learn
a new way to be.

It usually only lasts
a season,
but there’s no specific rule
about the length
of a season,
so it can be a month
(probably not),
a year
(if you’re lucky),
or longer
(most likely).

The death
of a loved one
is like taking a leg
off a chair -
you can still
sit,
but you’ll have to find
a new way to do it,

a new balance.

10 comments:

  1. the death of a loved one rocks the world...and it does cause us to find new ways of living...changing all our old patterns...over time we settle into those a bit but it does resonate...

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    1. Thanks - my kids' biological father died and I wanted to comfort them.

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  2. Anonymous6:04 PM

    Thank you for saying in this poem what we feel and can't express. God bless you, poet friend. -deb

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  3. I like the way you have described the feeling of loss. It is like that . . . having to find a new way.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, this is exactly the way I felt when I lost my father, so I wanted to write it down so I wouldn't forget.

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  4. Surviving a loved ones death is universal, I suppose. You communicate the feelings very well here-the last stanza is perfect. I have a first anniversary of a death coming up and I dread it.

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    Replies
    1. I remember. I hope it goes as smoothly as it can. Sending thanks and love, Moskowitz

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  5. Well expressed, Mosk. Yes, death is always hanging around somewhere; but when it visits someone we love (or those who we love love) it's hard. A leg taken off a chair describes it well.

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