I think you think you know
What you're getting into.
I think you think you're ready,
That you understand
That letting go comes... easy,
That it's second nature.
I think that at some level
We all wish this were true.
But we never really know
How attached we are
Or how accustomed we've become
To having and holding,
To seeing and saying "I love you".
I think we spent so much time
Promising to never leave.
Not because we think we would,
But because if we never leaved them
Then they never leave us.
And I think it's safe to be honest:
The latter hurts more!
When they leave, they leave holes, voids,
And emptiness that we believe simply can't be filled.
I think it's true
What they say about time.
That time heals, but it's funny -
No one ever tells us that time forgets...
I think it's because it isn't true.
You never forget their absence,
Those significant days,
The ones you wish the calendar would simply skip.
We close our eyes to them
But even in darkness we're reminded:
Things are complicatedly simple
And altogether different.
I think we think we know how to handle death,
How to stay present in the land of the living
When the one we love isn't.
But I think if we were honest
We'd admit that we have not a clue!
We just wake up... and do it!