For Lack of a Better Term

By Talia Franks

Grief is such a small word
How can only five letters
Encompass the vast sea
Of emotions crashing
The waves tearing me apart?

I’ve always considered myself
As someone full of words
Yet I find them elusive
The language slipping from my grasp
As silky as the snakes on my skin.

I believe in the cycles of life and death.
I have faith that what has come
Will come again. I know in my heart
That her God cares for her, and she
Is now and peace, and free of pain.

I have faith that the universe
Is endless, and that we are all part
Of one another. I know that this
Is not forever. And yet sorrow,
The sorrow feels unbearable.

I must bear it, because I must go on.
Part of making the ancestors proud,
Is having pride in oneself.
And yet I am a selfish creature.
Even twenty-five years,
Was not enough time.

Grief is such a small word,
For such a plethora of feelings.
I will continue to use it simply,
For lack of a better term.