I participated in a Story Circle Network poetry webinar today with poet Sharon Charde. The title of her presentation was, “Transforming Your Trauma into Art.” I don’t consider myself a poet but am drawn to this short form of expression. At the end of the 1 1/2 hour presentation, Sharon gave us the prompt: Describe your grief in as much detail as you can. We had ten minutes. This is my first draft attempt.

To George

Alone. Left behind.

Abandoned to tread through life

without

your steady presence,

your laugh.

I miss your knowing nod

when I shared unvarnished thoughts.

Your eyes that said, “Exactly right. I agree.”

I yearn for the intimacy of our

shared perception, and

the trust that created that

sweet connection.

I miss the purity of

our brother-sister bond