My Dearest Dan, Thank You For Painting The Skies Poem by Shaina Dudek

Grief, my friend
rolls in as waves, with my back turned toward the sea
The tide creeps in, I sink
a little deeper into the Earth
As it pulls away I am left unbalanced, numb
To the truth, to this new reality, to acceptance, and You
the wind that steers these waves
In all hours of the day, still
You surround me

How can they tell me you're gone?

Today, I held the hand of a man
Only twenty-two years of age
lying in a wooden box
Embodiment of peace, and I weeped
watching your eyes, I anxiously awaited you to wake
Then fell to my knees and cursed the skies
For letting you get away
This time

I drove until empty
just to watch the dusk devour the day
Choked down my guilt and prayed
my heart to keep beating
my lungs to keep filling with air
An unbearable feat
though you witnessed my plead, and
Gracefully guided my stare

'Don't cry for me, girl
Look what I can do now-

A moving portrait on the horizon, I saw
Inimitable by mortal hands
Sublime in its very essence and
Your smile led solace throughout my still trembling chest

'Look what I can do now-

I can paint the skies.'