On mourning

This sonnet was recently published on the memorial pamphlet for the late Pete Griffith

as surely as the frost of winter hides

the memory of a garden under moss -

a dark renaissance where spring resides -

I know that nature compensates for loss

not asking us to understand its choices

or question the weird mystery of grief

it emerges like a choir of many voices

to fill our hearts with wonder and belief

though misplaced memories may bring regret -

alighting briefly in our restless minds -

the act of mourning heals us and begets

its blessing as our lives are redefined -

when mourning breaks we find we can forgive -

made possible to us because we live

© Hazel Hall

21 April 2012