The Death of a Loved One is Never Easy by Martin Willitts Jr.

Gather unsettled dark birds,

trying to get in the last word

before flying into the forest of loss.

No matter what we say,

there will be a day in the distance

when pain lessens —

that day is waiting to inhabit us.

Martin Willitts Jr has 24 chapbooks including the Turtle Island Quarterly Editor’s Choice Award, “The Wire Fence Holding Back the World” (Flowstone Press, 2017), plus 19 full-length collections including the Blue Light Award 2019, “The Temporary World”. His recent book is "Unfolding Towards Love" (Wipf and Stock, 2020).