Photo by Mike Newbry on Unsplash
(after Betsy Kahn’s Sipping Grief*)
Would my sips of loss be for family photos
or for our conversation gatherings
in the kitchen and living room?
Would I miss a childhood ceramic
bulldog that lasted all these years
or the view from my breakfast window?
Would I think of the Cracker-Jack-box
plastic monkey we hide from each other
or the squirrel that raids my birdfeeder?
Would I recall Beatrice, a metal sculpture
or yearn to step out my front door
for yard and sky vistas?
Would images hanging on my walls
return in memory or the safety of halls
with known paths and light switches?
Would I miss my charm necklace
and jewelry or long for the comfort
of my bed and pillow?
How do we heal lost history and find
security? I can only surmise my
response to a tragic loss.
In this life, we care for and value
dear ones, but eventually,
we’re memories to be sipped.
*Betsy Kahn’s essay, Sipping Grief, is about items that arise in her mind after losing her home in the Los Angeles fire.