the hardest thing in this life

has to be the loss of a child

there is no way to explain

the pain the loss hands out

the void it leaves behind

where the heart did once reside

even the thought is heartbreakingly cruel

in what the loss to a soul can do

the darkness that greets each new day

the sadness you continually have to brave

the hardest part of losing a child you've raised

is the emptiness that never goes away