– after Ada Limón

It’s funny how all the support
comes before we register
            what just happened.

Flowers, calls, letters, hugs,
anything to help those grieving;
            confused above all are we.

Maybe that’s just what delays
the inevitable. No, it’s just a
lack of understanding –

that it takes longer than you
think to realize that pain is not
            quite all. What we learn is

that pain does not simply come
and then fade. It has a delayed onset
            waiting for the storm to end.

And when the dust settles, and
when we need the support most,

the rest have moved on.