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by Chris Sorrenti


I don’t care what your reasons were
the why and the how
no longer seem important
amid sadness
and resentment
how can I judge
having never been you

as another colleague reminded
after the service
with hundreds in attendance
the masks we wear at work
aren’t the ones we wear at home

just another in a string of reminders
of how fragile the mind can be
how some of us are
and aren’t meant to survive

you went too soon

but the part that hurts the most
is we never got to say goodbye

© 2012

1,250 hits as of March 2024


03/10/2012

Author's Note: For Judy...supervisor...colleague...spiritual friend, 1960 – 2012. Judy passed on March 1st, and ever since then I’ve been struggling with so many emotions. We have our biological family, and then our work family; I feel like I’ve lost a sister. For a week now, I’ve been wrestling with a related poem, trying to express my thoughts and feelings about this event. What you see here is a shortened version of what was initially a much larger piece. Lots of good lines, that go deeper into the story, but I couldn’t seem to link them together properly, at least not without falling on stale clichés. And out of respect for the dead, maybe it’s better not to say too much.

Posted on 03/10/2012
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Rob Littler on 03/10/12 at 08:20 PM

What I like best about your post is that it reminds me how short my own life is, how short the experience is we live as human beings. To respond to your note about your larger piece and paring it down: My image, as a reader, was you at a wake, or gathering. Maybe the specific image you have, will force the language that you need to express the en masse emotion and totality of this loss. Thanks be to the post!

Posted by Kara Hayostek on 03/10/12 at 08:49 PM

I'm sorry for your loss, and wanted to say that cliches are cliches for a reason, because people recognize them and they provide comfort...

Posted by Gabriel Ricard on 03/10/12 at 10:26 PM

A deep, endlessly human tribute. Beautiful.

Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 03/11/12 at 12:38 AM

hey thank you, Chris I needed the words for someone who left suddenly these are just right

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 03/11/12 at 12:44 AM

Chris, I'm so sorry for your loss of this friend. I hope you can write more about her, and maybe in that way help you say goodbye.

Posted by Clara Mae Gregory on 03/11/12 at 05:14 PM

i love this.....genuine, authentic....from the heart....and very well expressed in verbal form...and this sings to us its sadness and loss xo~Mel

Posted by Clara Mae Gregory on 03/11/12 at 05:16 PM

I am sorry for your loss (I hit the button by mistake too soon)

Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 03/11/12 at 06:25 PM

A compassionate farewell to a colleague. Reminds me of the Scriptural admonition not to judge but grieve and move on.

Posted by Alison McKenzie on 03/11/12 at 08:22 PM

"...how some of us are and aren't meant to survive..." This says so much more than the mere words represent, and it is felt greatly throughout. P.S. I think that sometimes, a ramble is just right. We don't owe "good poetry" to anyone. Sometimes it just needs to be said, cliches (or not) and all.

Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 03/12/12 at 07:30 PM

What we grieve for is not the loss of some grand vision, but rather the loss of common things, friends, events and gestures.... ordinariness is the most precious thing we struggle for, the right to go on living with a sense of purpose and a sense of self-worth—an ordinary life. Keep on, keeping on, Chris. Thanks.

Posted by Joan Serratelli on 03/15/12 at 04:51 PM

The best poems are written from the heart, not the mind- this falls in that mold. You expressed your grief so well. I'm sorry for your loss.

Posted by Bruce W Niedt on 03/16/12 at 02:14 AM

Moving and evocative, Chris - reminds me of a poem I wrote about a co-worker who took his life ("The Wound", in my Published and Cited folder). Yours seems so much more personal though. My condolences.

Posted by Lori Blair on 03/17/12 at 01:09 AM

So heartfelt..and goodbyes are hard, but even harder is not to be able to do so and wish you still could..

Posted by Maria Massarella on 03/17/12 at 09:49 PM

Goodbyes are painful things. In my life experience I have created myself a shield and don't know if it be right or wrong my tendency to simply let events Be as they were meant to be. In the light of this thought I would say that your not having said goodbye is to be considered a gift...like an open door to the infinite. It may be an illusion of mine, but I like the thought that one can commune even beyond physical absence...and that she knows your pain. has heard your words...lovelight*hugs

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