Sometimes when we get close
we scrape at the edges
of grief and longing, we
let out great sighs, which
have no words to fill them

Sometimes in grief and longing
we grow distant, wishing, perhaps,
to spare each other from the same thing.
Then as we come together,
we notice how deep,
how strong, complex and tender
is our bond,

How much we are committed
to throwing our weight
into the small boat of our hope
and rowing with all our strength
that we may steer it, finally,
to the long sought shore.

©Wendy Mulhern
November 2, 2016