I think not many people
want to consider
what it’s like
on the other side
of the unthinkable
— certainly I never did

And when they say
they just can’t imagine it,
that is most likely true,
though their minds have thrown up images
of the pain,
and walled it off quickly
(that is what I always did)

Yet there are also many
(more and more of them,
as we get older)
who have crossed
(or been thrown over)
the line

And of them
I’m sure many have found
the sweet secret peace,
and hold it like a small light inside
and don’t tell anyone about it
(for who would they tell?)
but you can see it there
if you know to look.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 19, 2018