Grief is the rift
Between your brain
And your heart
That opens up
When that wretched part of you
The child
The dreamer
Thinks
They’re still coming back
You’ll see them
In the usual spot
With the same old jokes
The goofy grin
And stories you’ve already heard
Where the fish are always bigger
Than last time
In a place where the empty chairs
Don’t matter
And the piles of flowers
And all the canceled appointments
The gathering of somber faces
Mean nothing
That tension in your throat
That warmth in your eyes
Looming
Mounting
Cracking
Is just a joke you remembered
A cold coming on
Something you forgot
Something small
A misplaced item
An unwatered plant
Or a light left on
Replaceable
Forgettable
And the walls turn gray
As night falls
And the sun won’t
Dare to rise
Tomorrow
It wouldn’t
Not without you