The Fog of Mourning

 The Fog of Mourning
with love to my home state of Maine

We know what we know.
People were slain.
People were injured.
People experienced terror.
We are hurting.
We wait and wonder.

I had a sudden rush
 of tangled emotions this morning
after I read about the tender beings
who were killed in Lewiston.
I feel such empathy for them,
for their families,
for those who shared in their lives.
And then it went deeper as the words,
“there one minute, gone the next”
meandered through my mind.
Though it has been years,
and my husband died peacefully,
I can relate to a normal day
that ends with sudden,
catastrophic loss.
At first I felt guilty.
What right do I have to cry
 about my own loss
in the midst of this horrible crisis?
I knew to step outside,
take a breath,
be with the trees
and the morning mist.
Slowly it dawned
that we are together
in the fog of mourning
right now,
each in our own way.
How it dissipates
will ebb and flow and vary.
May we all
find spaces and places
to honor our feelings,
experience support,
share love and compassion
so the density of this fog
can lighten
as time goes by.

Sarah Carlson
October 27, 2023