GRIEF Poem: Okay., by Meghan Brickey

I didn’t know
What I would say in response
To Death,
Until the words
Left my mouth.

Of course,
Each death within those 11 days
Warranted
Unique reactions.

The first.
To Uncle Bill’s Death I asked,
“Was Someone with him?”
I don’t know why.
It seems the assumption
Is that no one wants to
Die
Alone.
But my mother’s cousin,
David,
Was there.
So comfort should be found
In the destruction
Of his body
By cancer.

The second.
To Daisy’s Death
I believe my first,
And possibly only words
Uttered

Were,
“Holy shit, wait, what the fuck?!”
Though,
It could’ve also have been
Something more along the lines of,
“What the shit?”
All I remember
Is the dropping of my bag
And shoes,
And the haphazard climb
Up to my grieving sister’s
Lofted bed.

The third.
I’m not sure
If I said anything
When Aunt Cookie died.
Like Uncle Bill,
Her death wasn’t
Unexpected
Or tragic
It just was.

I think,
I may have said
“okay.”