This six-part collection of poetry tells a story based on two characters in the book series I'm writing. One dies, and each poem describes one of the five stages of grief the other encounters. The five stages of grief do exist, and I did a little research before writing this. The first one is before she dies.
The Sunset
I watch the sunset
Its beauty stealing my breath
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it
The ones who succumb to the darkness
The ones craving warmth and beauty
The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow
We drown in this sea of pain and grief
The sunlight from the surface taunting us
Like a distant light you can reach for but never touch
A light we hope we will one day hold in our hands
You swim to the surface
Only to sink to the depths of the ocean
The sunset a place you hold dear in your mind
A way to escape reality
A way to tell yourself
“It’s gonna be okay,”
A way to hold onto hope
With these broken hands
Bloody and beaten
I take a step towards the light
My face aglow
This light
This warmth
This beauty
This hope
This is why we search for our sunset
The Sunset: Part Two - Denial
I return to watch the sunset
On yet another day
Its beauty stealing my breath
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it
The ones who succumb to the darkness
The ones craving warmth and beauty
The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow
But I don’t need hope
Because she’s still here
And I’m okay
As the light fades
It leaves pain that I try to push aside and forget
Convincing myself
She’s still here
But I’m alone
Cowering beside her corpse
At the feet of darkness
I was searching for that light
I could reach for but never touch
Until the shining light
The hope I held in my hands
Scorched my soul
Blackening it with memories
I tell myself never happened
She’s still here
I won’t let her go
How do I let go
Of someone who was my world?
How do I move on
From something that I can’t stop denying?
I can’t believe this abstruse truth
Luna was everything
She was my sunset
But now
She’s the sister
Who
I
Loved
Who
I
Lost.
The Sunset: Part Three - Anger
I watch the sunset
Its beauty stealing my breath
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it
The ones who succumb to the darkness
The ones craving warmth and beauty
The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow
She’s gone
I don’t wanna believe it
But deep down
I’ve always known
I lost what I needed most
The affliction I face
Would’ve never happened
If this lurid girl
Hadn’t taken her from me
Now all I have left
Is the sunset we used to watch together
What did she do to deserve this brutality?
My beloved sister
Was my sunset
And now her light has faded
But I will rise
I will find this girl
I will do what it takes
To avenge my sister
For Luna
I will find her
I will give her the vengeance she deserves
For you, Luna
For you.
The Sunset: Part Four - Confiding
We watch the sunset
Its beauty stealing our breath
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving a little hope for us
We’ve succumbed to the darkness
Craving warmth and beauty
The warmth and beauty we lost to our struggles
We’re talking
As the question I’ve been avoiding arises
“Where’s Luna?”
The words are jumbled in my mind
A mix of chaos and grief
It all spills out of my mouth
As the tears begin to fall
The words flowing like a river
I see the pain in his face
As I hug him tight
“It’ll be okay, she’s happier now,”
He promises
It’s almost a relief
To be understood
To share the same pain
To lose the same sunset
To lose the same sister
And for a heartbeat
Everything almost feels okay again.
The Sunset: Part Five - Depression
I watch the sunset
Its beauty stealing my breath
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving a little hope in my life
Because I’ve succumbed to the darkness
Craving warmth and beauty
The warmth and beauty I lost to the sorrow
I still remember
Her last sunset
As she begged for me
To flee to safety
It haunts me
Like a ghost I can never expunge
I see her face in every passing stranger
As a spark of hope ignites and dies
Knowing she’s gone
Wishing she was still here
Now she’s in the stars
As I watch the sunset
Her ghost by my side
Its beauty stealing my breath
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving a little hope in my life
Because I’ve succumbed to the darkness
Craving the warmth and beauty
I lost to the grief
Of her death.
The Sunset: Part Six - Acceptance
I watch the sunset
Its beauty stealing my breath
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it
The ones who succumb to the darkness
The ones craving warmth and beauty
The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow
She’s never coming back
I’ve had to face the harsh truth with certitude
No matter what I do
I’ll never see her again
The sunset is all I have
Of my beloved sister
Every evening
Is a reminder
Of how much she loved me
How hard she tried
How much she’d do
To see me happy
Her ghost will forever haunt my soul
There will always be a part of me
A fragment of my heart
Yearning to be healed
By her presence
I watch the sunset
As a new light dawns on me
Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings
Leaving hope of a better life
After everything I’ve been through
I will no longer succumb to the darkness of sorrow
I will take this light
This warmth
This beauty
This hope
And I will thrive
I will continue
I will rise
I will love
I will do everything
She wanted me to achieve
For you, Luna
For you.
-Lucy
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