THE PRINCESS AND THE VOID

The Princess and the Void By: Stephanie Josiah I'll never forget the day Our Ariana realized her Little brother, Ishypoo, Wasn't coming back It was late morning Early winter light was Cascading down through Bedroom curtains Spotlighting the hallway With metallic starbeams As I walked that longest walk From bed to where he used to sleep Just passing by - at first Hardly looking into the empty room - until I caught her profile Sitting in the mix of silver-blue And shadow Our fast-paced, warrior Princess sat statue-still Such an unusual way to find her One arm on her lap Covering her legs Which spilled off the side Of the vacant bunkbed, feet hovering over the floor Her face turned toward the indent In the mattress; outlined with his toys Where her other hand was pressed And the air went out of me The vacuum, the void Focal point in the room Highlighted by a grieving four year old My proud, booming girl now Sunken-in-slouched pulled down by loss's gravity An entire secret universe in a room Space, radiant light, undeniable dark, an unseen pull Shapes hanging in suspended Chaos-ordered A galactic museum featuring a wooden bunkbed-frame Observed by a too-young girl Realizing a piece of our Masterpiece Gone. Missing. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Horrible enough to be a parent burying a child. But to be a kid, burying a sibling? Only the strongest children get to wear these battle scars. And only the toughest families know they'll need a God-powered strength to get through a lifetime of grieving. I dedicate this poem to my children, my friend Lauren and Mitchell's family. Love, Steph