Your grandfather died yesterday, and here you are in class. What a brave, tender soul you are. I knew your news from a parent email, for which I will be forever grateful. So, I was not caught unaware when you came to me, and spoke two words: “I’m sad.” You uttered your pain in five letters. Then, you wept in my arms and poured out your grief through tears and strung-together-words, punctuated by mid-cry hiccups. My heart melted alongside yours, and I cried genuine tears. For you and your loss at just nine years old. And tears of my own, at 60. My grandma died two years ago. She was 104. In that moment, my heart joined yours and held it for just a moment, till you could breathe again. You are so brave. I’m in awe of you.
buffeted
by the depth of loss–
you broke surface
