We Who Remain

On the day of God with us, she left.
The idling engine betrayed her silent farewell and droned long after the tears
Her tears
not ours

We who remain
Remain

Forced to remember her in greeting card moments and obligatory cheer
Grimacing at awkward platitudes
“She would have been so proud”

We who remain
prefer to find her in the trees and the storm

We who remain
court grief like a cautious lover until she becomes a familiar friend

We who remain
try to find meaning in loss and beauty in ashes

We who remain
wonder if the fog will ever lift

And then one day

it does.