HEALING SERIES….

I write today of loss,

Of the pains that accompanies it

Such a harrowing experience to encounter

Different loss for different folks

Loss of health, property, liberty

And the most painful of all dare I say

The loss of loved one                                  

Loved ones are thrust into our very  existence

They create a niche, a space, a corner

They impact, shape and redefine our being

They make us anew

We never remain the same

Once their beam of existence hits us

They teach us to like, hate, cherish, covet

But above all, they teach us to love

You do not understand this feeling

But it creeps up on you

It starts slowly and gains ground

With the fist time your eye saw

 The smiling face of your Mother

To that cute little tot lying on the cot

To that smiling face across the aisle

You don’t know why you love

You don’t care why

You just love them because they are

And that’s the greatest feeling

Slowly but steadily

Your daily actions and activities

Revolve around these individuals

Brotherly brawls, sister’s gossips

Above all, you still call them family

And sometimes friends

You are bonded by blood

And sometimes by choice

You never envision for once

A life without them

You drink, make merry and fight

With these pieces of you that you can’t do without

Like comet, they transverse the skies of our life

Brightening and beautifying

Encouraging and enlightening

Breathtaking beauty

A little and just a hospital visit

Part of our existence you merely remark

Goodbye you say as they board a bus to travel

Nothing to worry about you tell yourself

Then a single call that leaves you grasping for straws

The comet has landed

A single call

That leaves a huge crater

Like a typhoon that drags you into an abyss

An abyss of uncertainty and despair

Then the silence sets in and a vacuum is created

A huge void is created

You lose bearing, you lose focus

Slowly, you fall through the precipice

Into the crater of

Tears, tears, questions, questions

Then the stark reality hits you

That smile, that sneer, that laugh, that smirk

You will never see these again

There is no God you declare

If there is, what’s the life of a baby

What an unjust being we ask

Questions, more questions

Like a candle in the wind

A little puff has plunged us into a deafening silence

A delicate part of you has been forcefully amputated

Your are left reeling with pains that you can’t put words to

Slowly, you begin to come to terms with the reality of your loss

You swear never to give someone, anyone

That power, that hold over you again

Above all, you swear never to let go, never to love again

Then the next baby appears, a new friendship

And with a smile and a coo

Similar likes and dislikes

Your inhibitions fall away

You take a cautious and tentative step

As the walls break down

And little by little, step by step

You learn to care once again

Again and again, those feelings return

And to make up for the last time

You give your all

Then another call

Tears, more tears

No more questions…

©Nwokedi Joseph George