Grief

Dear Grief,

You used to consume me in ways I didn’t know were possible.

Every part of me, mind, body, soul,

You owned.

You controlled my heart:

You broke it to tiny fragments,

Displaying them across my chest to show the work you’d done,

As if I’d praise you for your skills with a knife.

You controlled my brain:

Saturating my thoughts with sadness,

You made me believe I deserve nothing more

Except the lose I’d received.

You controlled my eyes:

At your command I wept until you permitted me to stop.

You controlled every nerve in my being:

You spread agony across my body like a wildfire.

I was being burned alive with no scars to show it,

Which let you do it again

And again

And again.

But, Mr. Grief,

You have hold of me no longer!

I am free from your saddened slavery!

I have been showered with the mercy that is peacefulness!

It has saturated my soul

And I shall radiate its beauty through every pore on my skin!

Goodbye, Grief!

Good riddance to you!

Happily signed,

Zoe Shellenbarger