Grief's Paradox
I knew the end was not so far
But when it came, it felt too near,
And vestiges of grieving are
Yet undiminished, with me here.
Thus you may join the pantheon
Of friends and lovers I have lost,
Bygones the heart won’t let be gone
When death comes always living’s cost.
Intensity remaining strong
Love finds no object in this vacuum,
So I am thwarted where I long
Though plenteous grievances don’t lack room.
Capacious is the heart of man,
Yet why should grief become a grievance?
Death balanced life since time began
And in the scale, proportion evens.
The end was just around the corner
So all the season’s signs foretold,
Which I fulfill, becoming mourner,
Though grief stays strong while it grows old.