Brace

You don’t expect grief when it comes knocking at your door.
You can’t ignore the ceaseless pounding either way.
Like a bouncing ball on a concrete floor, grief moves closer in sweeping arcs and if you are not ready it will hit you hard in the back of your head.
You can’t brace yourself too hard, lock your knees and you pass out.
Instead you must inhale the grief in, feel it intermingling with your blood, taste its acrid burn on your well-worn tongue, hear the cacophony of rage that pushes against your ear drums
And just when you think you can’t contain anymore,exhale and release it into the empty undulating ocean where it will dissipate amongst the collective
You will float, toes dangling in the aquamarine water, head relaxed, heart beats slow
You are here again