Grief on my Shoulder

Grief perches on my shoulder,
as I remember you perching
on the windowsill of life,
not ready to spread your wings,
still tethered by earthly things.

Our goodbye was brutal, no words,
just an unbidden memory
of swimming at the local pool,
your strong hands buoying me.

There are times, left alone with thoughts
and memories, when grief
sneaks up, a vulgar thief
of quietude.

Wait for me on the edge of sunrise
among dreams where shadows play.
When I wake, accompany
me throughout the day,
and keep my grief at bay.

Kim M. Russell, 30th July 2024

It’s Tuesday Poetics with Punam at the dVerse Poets Pub, and we are picking up the pieces.

Punam says that we have all met grief at some time or the other in our lives, that it’s a “natural and emotional reaction to the loss of someone close to us. It can also envelop us after a serious illness, divorce, financial loss or loss of job. Sometimes moving homes, cities, countries can also trigger grief. It often arrives unannounced and its stay is usually indefinite. As a result of it we feel angry, numb, guilty, shocked and an infinite sadness. It is a journey we all undertake but the pace at which we come out of it varies for each one.”

She tells us about her personal experiences of grief, of how people deal with it in different ways, with poets writing poetry as a medium to pour out our overwhelming emotions. Which is why there are so many poems about grief, and Punam has shared some with us to give us inspiration to write about grief – in general or personal.

The thirteenth anniversary of my father’s death is on 6th August, four days before my birthday, so it’s a tough time of year for me. I’ve retrieved some old poems about grief from my archives and taken lines and phrases from them to create something new.

49 thoughts on “Grief on my Shoulder”

  1. I love your use of personification, Kim, to drive home the immediacy of grief when it comes to call in “quietude.” The direct address at the end is so heart-breakingly wistful and tender.

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  5. Living with the dead is the shadow relationship which grows as we age. We have a history with our lost loved ones, rings in the heart attesting to fierce presence of that absence over time. I like how you personify grief here as an invasive third party kept at bay by the liminal echoes of dream and poem. Well done.

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  6. “Wait for me on the edge of sunrise…..” So beautiful, so poignant. This poem really speaks to me, Kim, as I absorb new losses of my own.

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  17. Grief is so personal and you convey that in your poem Kim

    when grief
    sneaks up, a vulgar thief

    if you are not suffering enough the thief takes more and more from you.

    I felt as if I was experiencing your memories in my own head. 🥲❤️

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  19. Like so many other of your readers, this captivated me:

    “Wait for me on the edge of sunrise
    among dreams where shadows play.”

    They do wait. They do. They call to us in dreams.

    Thank you for helping me feel connected to my lost ones, esp. my Dad, and I hope these next days for you with the death day and birth day milestone can bring some sense of connection.

    Your picture with your Dad is lovely. The poem is lovely.

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