Heart-broken in Three

Oh my darlings in heaven,
Numbers eight, six and seven,

Do you know that you are
So beloved?
Do you know that you are
Dreamed of?

Do you know how many times
I cry?
Do you know how many days
Go by?

Do you know how many hours
I miss?
Do you know how many moments
Of bliss?

Do you know how often I feel
Your absence?
Do you know how often I wish for
Your presence?

Do you know that I think of how old
You'd be?
Do you know that I think of how soon
You'd see?

Do you know that I tell myself
There's eight?
Do you know that five plus three
Equals eight?

"You can still try for number six."
They utter.
"Six?! I'd be adding NINE to the mix!"
I shudder.

I drown in my tears over the loss
Of you.
My heart has broken in three,
Not two.

I've been changed by grief forever
I know.
This painful, aching feeling will
Not go.

I'm growing as I keep on going
Without you.

I'm letting go what doesn't matter;

I'm through.

All of this has made me stronger
In life.
I'm moving forward; I've cut out
All strife. 

~ Lizzie Aug. 23, 2020