(In Memory of a Beloved Brother and anyone grieving the loss of their loved ones)
You left without a goodbye
I’ve been lost,
I’ve been shattered,
The world a blur of meaningless noise.
I’ve been hollowed,
A shell of who I was—
Why did you leave so sudden, so silent?
A whisper, a touch, a final word—
Anything but this cruel absence.
I wish I held you as the light left your eyes,
I wish I heard your voice one last time.
*”Verily, we all must go someday,”*
The only refrain that quiets my screaming heart.
I thought I was strong,
I thought I could bear it,
Be the rock for those drowning in grief.
I thought I knew pain,
I thought you’d stay—
A lifetime of laughter, decades of stories.
But here you are, still and silent,
And the greatest agony is knowing
I will never hear your laugh again.
This can’t be real.
This isn’t you.
Pinch me, wake me—
Tell me this is just a nightmare.
But my trembling hands touch cold truth:
You are gone.
Yet you are everywhere—
In the echoes of my breath,
In the love you planted deep within us.
I wish this were a fairytale,
Where heroes never fade,
Where goodbyes are never forever.
But here you lie, lifeless,
And I am hollowed.
I tried to fill the void with memories,
With warmth, with rage, with desperate hope—
But the chasm remains.
I clawed at Death’s icy grip,
Pounded my fists against its unfeeling hold,
Wrapped you in every ounce of love I had left—
But its frost was eternal.
You left without a goodbye.
Yet here’s the truth, my Champion:
Though you are gone,
You are not lost.
Your love still lives—
In every smile you gave,
In every life you touched,
In every moment we carry you forward.
So I will not let grief be your only legacy.
I will hold the joy we shared,
The laughter, the light, the unshakable bond.
I will love fiercely, as you did.
I will live fully, as you would want.
And though my heart is fractured,
It beats with the strength you taught me.
Goodbye, dear brother—
Or perhaps, not goodbye.
But until I see you again.
Prose by me 