I kept the obituary pinned to the top of my social media for a year
A white flag unto the masses
“I surrender, I can't take anymore”
Because eventually the sympathy stops pouring in (thank god)
But in its absence is a feeling that you are meant to stop grieving also
Like if it didn't happen recently
If their death isn't fresh
If the soil of their burial is not still damp from being upturned
It’s not supposed to hurt anymore
But how do you reconcile that your world stopped and restarted in the span of time that they took their last breath?
How do you make amends with who you were before
and who you are after.
So what if my person died 6 months ago
or 10 years ago
Should it not hurt the same?
If you break a bone
it feels different for the rest of your life
Aches in the cold and the rain
If your heart breaks is it not the same?
Songs, smells, places, pictures
Should the grieving have to pin white flags of surrender to their breast in hopes the world will be a little kinder?