II. Grief: For Those Left in the Shadow

This is a muddle of a pinched maze you've found

yourself in, full of unscaleable walls

from that giant thumbprint pressed into the raw

world you move through. And sometimes it drowns

you with its silent shadow when it takes

a life away, when you're left asking if

this is God's imprint or some fatal twist

we can't alter or manipulate.

Some parts of the world are cold and beautiful

at the same time, like those mountain peaks

where you can see the "other side." But death

is never like that, always a chestful

of ache and already stealing your heartbeat

of memory, your treasure, your perfect rest.

Barry Ballard's poetry has most recently appeared in Quarterly West, The Chariton Review, and New Delta Review. His collections include: Green Tombs to Jupiter (Snail's Pace Press Poetry Prize) and Charred Fragment of Light (Creative Ash Press Poetry Prize).

Copyright National Forum: Phi Kappa Phi Journal Spring 2002
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