A Friend’s Shiva Visit

She came to my house, still fresh from her loss To quietly sit shiva with me A friend from way back, no worry about tact We shared sadness and raw honesty She listened quite well as I poured out my heart She teared up as I shed my tears Then she taught me about loss and she reminded me about life And she helped me assuage my deep fears When I discounted my loss, because no tragedy occurred She wagged her finger right there in my face Saying “Each loss is unique, ‘cause it’s yours, don’t you think” She gave me permission to mourn in my space Old friends have a way, to find the right way To say the hard things that we need to hear Like “It’ll worsen, this pain” and “You’ll get through it again” And “I’m here, you got nothing to fear.”  

Explore more poetry about mourning Papa (my dad, Ken Kipnes). Watch my videos about mourning Enjoy more of my spoken word poetry