Twenty tournaments
Since that moment when you left us
with
the world beneath our feet
and its many broken parts
like crumpled sheafs of paper
fragrance in your closets
neither here nor there
scabs on our heart skins
rubbing hope into each other
instead, dripping voids
Trying to illuminate
Twenty tournaments
Counting twenty tournaments
Still bidding farewell
to our life
the queasy stomach
and shaky voice
narrative memory
in longing words
mystified, repetitive efforts
purposeful
our search for hope
well tried yet opaque
voices in prayer
and stoic silences, stunned
seemingly, collectively
in free fall
It has been a while
since the storm, yet
recovery ever in progress
Twenty tournaments