my sister died on a Tuesday morning
the telephone
an inconvenient interruption
until my mother’s voice
7 states away
repeated itself
what is she saying about my sister
we planned to grow old together
still arguing
& playing scrabble
someone said to me, later
“I am sorry for your trouble,”
like death is an inconvenience
like getting stuck in traffic
or spilling coffee on a new dress
who was I to think
the morning should be less beautiful
the air cooler
because she no longer breathed into it;
but the world did not pause for an instant
death simply the end of one cycle
and the beginning of another
still, it was shocking to learn
that particular sky
was as blue as it was
when her eyes
no longer saw it
Susan Daniels Poetry 
nothing more to add! Deep, sad but says it all – the grief, the shock, and that feeling that the world should stop and the anger over the fact that it does not and that indeed it simply goes in spite of our loss and the pain we bear! I have travelled on this same road before, Susan!
Thanks for the feedback, appreciated 🙂
This was one of the few things I wrote in ’95, after she passed, when it all was still so raw. I put it on here in early 04/2011, but am still not liking it too much as it stands, despite tweaking. Wonder if I dislike the poem because I dislike the subject, even though at peace with it now? Know you have walked this road before, my friend.
that should be 04/2012
when I clicked the like, that was not really the best button to press, but there was no other thing I could press. Very deep and still raw
Thank you, Ian. Appreciate the sentiment, very much! A lot of the poetry on here needs an ouch button too.
a beautiful tribute–be proud!
Thank you!
It’s like verbalized shock. There’s a conflict here between our place in the world and her place in your heart
yes, that’s it; a dissonance.