Seven Stages

Shock
Denial
Anger
What the hell comes after anger?
Because I surely am not guilty
and remorse . . .

I'm sure acceptance is what everyone waits for
but for me, it's some other stage
Some other landscape than acceptance.
Because this is unacceptable.

Wholeness in aloneness
Complete. Round.

No missing pieces.
No bruises fading.
No thundering heart.
No echo of vile voice
knelling through the night.

A solitary landscape
unpacked and unlimited
where the moon and sun
occupy the same sky
without complaint.