20150902 (grieving)

It’s impossible to grieve enough

When you consider the weight of a life

Even a babe who dies after a day

Has dominated months of its parents’ 

Concern some cultures agree on a set

Period a week perhaps many tell me

That’s too short when in my job I 

Granted leave for a funeral except 

For those most closely related a

Couple days would suffice the wake

And the funeral for cousins uncles

And aunts husbands wives sons and

Daughters you’d think would need more time

But they often returned and carried

Their burden in quiet solitude from time 

To time you’d get a request grandma was

Like a mother to me and two weeks 

Of grief were born well in the Caribbean

Sun was there no one so low they’d not

Use a family death to go golfing

I’m not talking about those off the wall

Situations or when an uncle’s sister-in-law

In California whom you didn’t write or visit

For years now must suddenly be memorialized

With two more weeks away 

You know when you’re being used 

But it’s not worth the fight

All that aside no amount of time

Makes up for a life finally after a year

You go through her clothes realizing

You can’t do this call in your sister 

Sister-in-law touching each item you

Knew how she wore it with this necklace

Or that skirt find a hair on the suit

Don’t know what to do with it

Stare too long brush it away

Wipe your eyes there’s really no

Point in me being here I’m in the way

Let me know when you got it all sorted

I’ll carry it downstairs but you can’t

I’ll bring up some boxes label them

For where they go I’ll get them in

The car tomorrow and take them around

We’re not going to garage sale any of this

If you want something no you won’t

Fit this give it all away I’d rather not

See the costume jewelry ever again

The good stuff I’ll save for the kids

My son’s possessions were simpler

A pair of fairly new jeans some socks

Incredibly dirty a fistful of scratched CDs

They thought better of giving me

The belt he used to hang himself

He had a small box of papers mostly

My last letters to him

c. J.S.Manista, 2015