When a Loved One Dies - Sashana Kane Proctor

[Lawrence Robinson]

When a Loved One Dies

Since he died
There is a hole
   in the very being of alive

Those still here
   miniscule to gargantuan
   furry, scaled, naked skinned, feathered, leafed
   those nearly silent
   those that roar and thunder
   the wide-eyed, the blind
   those lonely, lost, desperate
   along with singers of joy, dancers and celebrants
   madrones and stones and swimming holes
   trails where his footprints lay
   his loved ones
   those still seeking him that he will never meet

We are peering
   into the infinite darkness of the rent in alive
   remembering him
   missing him 
   mourning
   crying his name.

And this powerful longing
   to hold the gone                                                                                                  
    breathes alive back into our lungs.                                                        

	- Sashana Kane Proctor