When I arrived in profound darkness,
I walked through an invisible field
accompanied only by the vastness
of the sea’s sound, the waves which do not yield
to rocks at the land’s edge. I am grateful
for the ocean’s rhythm, for waves crashing
the shore and retreating in a graceful
half-silence, grateful for the sea washing
the stones and smoothing coarse edges, the way
our sharpest memories erode. One year
has passed since my dad died, and the sea’s sway
briefly frees my grief: his spirit is near
reminding me this is what living is,
reminding me this is what loving is.
Heather Hallberg Yanda, who teaches in the English Department at Alfred University, is the author of the poetry collection, Late Summer’s Origami, and is looking for a publisher for her second collection, What the Stones Borrowed.
