Grief

A subtle, agonising pain and then there is nothing

It’s in your eyes, your mind, your heart and soul

Like a marionette you move but you don’t feel

Your lips move in a paraody of a smile, a grimace

You use all your strength, every ounce of your being

To keep up the wall, your only protection from reality

A crack appears, infintessimal  but enough to cause

A breach. One by one they arrive, with force, in waves

Guilt, anger, fear and pain, driving the strength from you

Tearing down your wall until you are stripped bare

So quickly built, the wall is straw, is cobwebs, is dust

Only when you realise that all is lost do you search

For a single, solid something to rebuild your foundations

Seemingly substantial, things slip from your grasp

They are ghosts and shadows, not strong enough, weak

You find nothing for your wall, you must stand alone

You learn again, like a child, what made you strong

You slip, you fall but slowly, so slowly, you find it

Hope.