Grief Is Like A River

My grief is like a river-

I have to let it flow,

But I myself determine

Just where the banks will go.

Some days the current takes me

In waves of guilt and pain,

But there are always quiet pools

Where I can rest again.

I crash on rocks of anger-

My faith seems faint indeed,

But there are other swimmers

Who know that what I need

Are loving hands to hold me

When the waters are too swift

And someone kind to listen

When I just seem to drift.

Grief’s river is a process

Of relinquishing the past.

By swimming in Hope’s channels

I’ll reach the shore at last.

Cynthia G. Kelley
“The Compassionate Friends”
Cincinnati, OH