What Do You Do? Poem by DAVID TERRY

What do you do when your love has gone away?
You feel your heart race as you breathe in and breathe out
You have to force yourself to move as you learn to walk without
You do your best to try to forget
You tell yourself “it’s for the best”
You cook and clean and do yard work and tasks
You keep yourself busy just in case anyone asks
You spend longer hours on your work for your pay
You spend sleepless nights that become mornings gray
You look at old photographs of happier times
You remember how it felt when her music played sublime
You pray and confess and spend time on your knees
You pray for absolution and forgiveness in degrees
You remind yourself of bad times and better to come
You do this but then remember some
You argue with yourself and figure out the right words
You realize she’s really gone and how you sound absurd
You find your mind wandering of how she now holds another
You try to forget how it felt to hold her when she was your lover
You stare long into the mirror as you wipe away your tears
You realize the worst is past and that you’ve faced your fears
What do you do when the love of your life has truly gone away?
You do what I’ve done without you now every lonely day