The day after tragedy feels like the hardest.
Silence takes the room when you enter.
You don’t look up, but all eyes are on you.
They know that you’re grieving.
They don’t know what to do.
You try to smile. Say it’s okay.
You try to act like it’s any other day.
Condolences are then given.
Kindness brings you to tears.
But you almost wish you had deaf ears.
You want to move on, push through what happened.
You don’t want to acknowledge that your heart is saddened.
You play it over and over.
You wonder what went wrong.
Was there something you should’ve known all along?
But the heavy truth is that it’s done.
Somehow you have to find a way to move on.
And this day after tragedy has its own say.
When something you didn’t know you wanted passed away.
nikki diekemper 