![\"\"](\"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/grave-7544170248940825409.jpg\")
<\/a>My grandparents’ grave. My mother’s ashes are buried beneath the wreath my great-nephew, Wyatt, picked out. We must wait for Spring to add her headstone.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
End of Line<\/strong><\/p>\n I walk into your home, but you\u2019re not there I walk into your room, bed\u2019s not made I wait next to your bed, remembering days gone by I stand alone in your living room I walk through your empty rooms I walk into your dining room I walk in to your hospital room It was not so long ago, we\u2019d spend hours on the phone The doctors help you breathe on your own again I long to speak with you, that time is now passed Nine months is not enough time to say goodbye Lost in pain and memories A small picture clenched in my palm Childhood friends arrive to say goodbye Laid to rest, life is still, There will be no \u201cone more\u201d embrace A piece of my heart remains, you rest now with your mom and dad
\nthings of you, things about you
\nthey are you, but you are not there <\/p>\n
\nyou were going to sleep here again
\nat the end of the day<\/p>\n
\nand hold the thoughts of waking you
\nfor an extra quarter to buy lunch<\/p>\n
\nnot sure what to do, I wait for you, alone
\ndreaming of the day you walk through the door<\/p>\n
\ntouch your belongings and wonder
\ndo I have a right to move them,
\ndo I have a right to clean<\/p>\n
\nsit in your place
\ntake a deep breath
\nwondering when I can exhale again<\/p>\n
\nI want a hug, I want to cry
\nbut now is not the time to fall apart
\nI kiss you on the forehead as you sleep
\nwishing you could come home with me<\/p>\n
\nI long to hear your voice, but your vocal chords are strained
\nI want to speak with you every day
\nThe distance is too far and there is not enough time<\/p>\n
\nI watch it all through a phone, but you do not wake up
\nI wait patiently for you to make a sound,
\ngrasping on unconscious vibrations, is it really you?<\/p>\n
\nThere are still so many questions, forever unanswered<\/p>\n
\nNine months is not enough time to prepare<\/p>\n
\nsilently, I think of days when you were there
\nthose times are gone, it\u2019s all empty now<\/p>\n
\nthe only way to see you again, still I can\u2019t bear to look.<\/p>\n
\na former coworker returned your recipe for me to keep<\/p>\n
\nthe sky is silent, Spring is here
\nsurrounded by family forevermore <\/p>\n
\nI sit in your blue rocking chair one last time
\nthis is all I can do today<\/p>\n
\nPeacefully, the snow falls.
\nWinter\u2019s come, but the smell of your baking is not here.
\nA wreath from Wyatt to keep you company for eternity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[112,417,285],"class_list":["post-4310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-death","tag-mom","tag-poetry"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4310"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4314,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310\/revisions\/4314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}