GRIEF Poem: Tallies, by Abbie Briggs

Counting the days lost to grief. Counting the teeth
falling from my face. Disgraced
for what they couldn’t clench, disgusted
by the stench of the rot in the sockets underneath.
Disappointments dig in deep.
Roots rummaging through nerves
unnerved by uprooting
constantly shooting this catch-22 pain
through my veins from one end to the other,
only stopping to hover my heart. Only stopping
to distort my sight. Figments hold light
but mirages are known for misadvising,
disguising truth in fantasy, still,
sometimes I let them lie to me, sometimes
it’s the only life that seems to be living.
Sometimes
I have to stop swallowing
doses of indifference, for just a few minutes.
For just a few minutes,
I have to forget the days
lost to grief before I lose my belief
in the possibility of days without it.

Author: poetryfest

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