Grief Is a Candle, Quiet Soul (Grief Poem)

This poem was born from grief. I started writing it after my grandma passed last year -- and because I've always loved Edgar Allan Poe's darkness and Emily Dickinson's way of cutting straight to the soul, I spent over a year quietly studying both of them and writing this. For the longest time this piece stayed hidden in a notes app, something I wasn't sure I'd ever share.

I posted it this morning only on Tumblr at first because it felt safe -- like the kind of corner where grief can sit beside you without needing to be polished or perfect.

But I decided to put it on Wattpad too. Because grief isn't something only a few of us carry. It's something almost everyone brushes up against at some point, and it felt right to share it with both sides of my little world. If even one person finds comfort in it, then letting it breathe in both spaces was worth it.

I hope this poem reaches anyone who's moving through loss -- or has carried it for a long time. If you read my story I'm Lost Without You on Wattpad, you know how deeply my grandmother shaped me. Losing her has been one of the hardest parts of my life... and in the last year, I've also lost both of my remaining grandparents. One by one, a year apart, until there were none left.

With my grandfather's wake coming up this weekend, it feels right to finally share this. Maybe it finds someone who needs it. Maybe it reminds you that you're not alone in what you're feeling.

If this sits with you -- even quietly, even painfully -- I hope it also offers a little warmth.

Like a candle after the flame