The only thing you have to do...

The only thing you have to do is grieve.
Say it, shout it, dance with it.
One word that encompasses all the pain,
The memories, sharp, clear
Poignant.

So take off your happy face
And cry into your pillow.
Walk across the floor in ugly old sweats
Sit on the couch and look
At his picture on the piano.

To swift the passing of his years
And my life spread before me
Like a quilt with infinite possibilities
His stuffed beneath the Ford Explorer
I bought him for graduation.

Remember when it gets too much,
The only thing you have to do is breath.
Take in the wind across the lake and
The fuzzy pink dawn
The blue heron on the bank
Like a winged god.

So put grief on the shelf.
Wrap it up for a rainy day or
A song that sparks his memory.
Open it up and caress it
Like you used to hold him
In your arms while
He suckled at your breast.