Winter Grief

Let the rest 

in this rested place 

rest for you.

Let the birds sing quietly

and the geese call

from far off

and let the sky race

from west to east 

when you cannot 

lift a wing to fly.

Let evening trace 

your loss in the branches

against a fading sky.

So that you can give up

and give in

and be given back to,

so that you can let

winter come and live

fully inside you,

so that you can

retrace the loving path

of heartbreak 

that brought you here. 

So you can cry alone

and be alone

so you can let yourself alone

to be lost,

so you can let the one 

you have lost alone, 

so that you can let

the one you have lost 

have their own life 

and even

their own death

without you.

So that the world

and everyone who has ever lived 

and ever died can come and go 

as they please.

So you can let yourself not know, 

what not knowing means.

So that you can be

even more generous in your letting go

than they were in their leaving.

So that you can let winter 

be winter.

So that you can let the world alone

to think of spring.

…

WINTER GRIEF 

From THE BELL AND THE BLACKBIRD

Poetry by David Whyte