Death lights heavy

Hummingbird mama
abandons her nonviable eggs —
but keeps checking back
a few more times, just to be sure.

An arm falls from a sickly saguaro
and breaks open on the ground
like a prickly green eggshell —
after decades of desert still-life
a few seconds of death-motion.

But the night breeze is so beautiful
those breezes are — so beautiful
it’s hard not to get swept away.

Terri Guillemets

Memorial

Grieving makes us stronger
      it gives us a spirit of grace
      and the grace of spirit —
Our hearts feel weaker
      but living past loss is
      the ultimate courage —
We honor our loved ones
      by living on despite,
      and all the more because.

Terri Guillemets