Grief: a poetic reflection

falling fast in a dark shaft
with no handholds or bottom below

cast out on rough seas alone
struggling to stay above the waves

walking ghostly among the corporeal world
or like the only fleshly body in a landscape of phantoms

nauseous stomach like something within needs to be expelled
yet empty inside with a sucking black hole fixed at the center

a multi-story building crashing down upon all around
scattering debris and forms unmade and unidentifiable

cold—ice cold—stripped bare in Arctic air
and burning in a waterless desert under a scalding sun

the numbness of all this existing inside
concurrently with everyday, ordinary life


Discover more from Matthew Erickson

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

3 Replies to “Grief: a poetic reflection”

  1. These words ring true to me, especially about how strange it is that everything goes on as usual while one’s world is falling apart. It seems pointless, even annoying, to have to eat, wash one’s hair, etc. And it doesn’t make sense that the world keeps turning. Thank you, Jesus, for crying with us.

Leave a reply to Andy Cancel reply