Lullaby for the Grieving
Poetry Fridays with Ashley M. Jones
I’ve been working my way through the poetry collection You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, and almost every poem in the collection has been a show-stopper. But this one, in particular, spoke to me. We’ve been grieving the loss of our dog and a lot of people in my life have been facing grief of their own. As someone who thinks a lot about grief, I loved the way this poem approached it. There’s a sense of hope, an acknowledgement of the pain, and the encouragement to take one small step forward.
Lullaby for the Grieving
at the Sipsey River
by Ashley M. Jones
make small steps.
in this wild place
there are signs of life
everywhere.
sharp spaces, too:
the slip of a rain-glazed rock
against my searching feet.
small steps, like prayers—
each one a hope exhaled
into the trees. please,
let me enter. please, let me
leave whole.
there are, too, the tiny sounds
of faraway birds. the safety
in their promise of song.
the puddle forming, finally,
after summer rain.
the golden butterfly
against the cave-dark.
maybe there are angels here, too—
what else can i call the crown of light
atop the leaves?
what else can i call
my footsteps forward,
small, small, sure?
Beautiful.