The Jagged Edges of Grief

grief is sharp and it cuts deep

and can feel as though you have been wrapped tightly with barbed wire

your heart gets snagged by the jagged edges

which can feel like you are being ripped apart

and pieces of you are being torn away

but sometimes there are spaces in between the sharp points which represent the moments when the pain is easier to tolerate

and you realize that the barbed wire is not there

to cut and harm you, it is there to protect you

you might bleed, but that just means you feel

and with grief, we need to feel even when it hurts

Gabrielle Elise Jimenez