Even Though

Even Though

How sorrow finds you
Is not of your own choosing.
The Earth opens up with no intent,
Swallows thousands;
A mother dies;
A president runs out of time.
All who mourn
Mourn themselves as well.

When  morning comes,
Birds remember their wings.
How they fly an inarguable fact.
When their offspring perish,
Grief leaves a faint trace
Across the breadth of the cosmos.
Each year,
They build a new nest.

So many echos coursing through our veins,
Our arrivals, our determination, our departures.
The winds of time bear quiet witness
To these brief encounters passing through our flesh,
Day after night after dreams of forever -
We are so poorly trained
At letting go.
Even though...
Even though...
Even though we must.