Shell

On December 15, 2007, I lost a friend to suicide. A few years later, I wrote this poem about the shock and grief one feels after losing a loved one this way.

shell

when you left i stood still
frozen in time.
you became ageless and i tried.
the spinning world was a thorn
as if people did not see
the hole
you left behind.
stepping over the place where you were
they forgot
as i stood still.
in time i knew the taste
of voices and smiles
alive.
i moved, i lived, but
like a creature shedding its skin
i left a shell, a piece
of myself behind
ageless
standing with you.

Three years ago: City Lights
Four years ago: Three Years
Five years ago: Rockin' Up There