Not All Love {a poem}

Not ever cloud has a silver lining
nor do pink blossoms line every path

I will not throw platitudes
at your suffering
or pummel you with positive thinking

Instead, we can just walk together
no matter the weather
no matter how shitty the news
or painful the prognosis

The world doesn’t get to tell you
what you should feel
how you should heal
or what steps you should take

In fact, the word “should”
assaults the heart
at its most tender

Choose your own way
Speak your own language
of grief, of fear, of longing and loss

Prayer is not property
and not all love is love and light