Grief-speak:
Starting sentences
You are unable to complete
Through the tight constriction
Of the throat.
At times there is even laughter
After trying, but failing,
To make the sounds come out.
You learn that a breath,
A swallow,
Enables you to continue.
You learn that improvement as time passes
Can be measured
By the diminishing length of the gap
In the flow of your words,
And the increasing rate of completion of the phrase.
Grief-speak:
Starting sentences
You are unable to complete
Through the tight constriction
Of the throat.
June 2014
Jo Hansen 