Hill Walk Poem by Mary Champion

How, she wonders, can she live without him?
knowing he is irretrievably gone.
When so much of her life was about him,
where will she find the courage to move on?

She recalls her childhood fascination
with the rugged, rolling hills of her home,
how they brought her a sense of elation
when she had walked and explored them alone.

Can they still work their magic and give her
their permission to mourn and gently heal?
Can a vigorous hill walk deliver
freedom to show what she tries not to feel?

A little breathless, following the climb,
she stops where the stony pathway branches -
a salmon-pink sunset is just as sublime
even in her dark blue circumstances.

Succumbing - she allows herself to weep.
Hard times ahead - but tonight she will sleep