One you held in your arms is no longer here. 
The arms feel quite empty.  You shed many a tear. 
The absence causes incredible pain. 
You search for fulfillment, yet your efforts seem in vain. 
What to do when the heart hurts so bad? 
This is a level of pain that goes far beyond sad. 
The challenge is thinking that death is the end. 
The transition from the body takes you far around a bend
To an untested path that you might not have taken. 
It is one that is far too often forsaken
By those who never have known such pain. 
And now your loss can be your gain
As you seek and seek the underlying truth,
Looking in all new places for indisputable proof
That your loved one is not gone and dead,
Which is what you’ve now heard and read. 
Hear us well, it is true indeed. 
In this, your greatest time of need. 
Know that life ends not with the breath. 
There’s little difference ‘tween birth and death
Save the presence of a hug or the touch of an arm. 
Know that the soul does not experience harm
When the heart ceases beating …
Listen well, for this bears repeating: 
Your loved ones still exist. 
Feel the grief, but do not resist
This opportunity to heal. 
Allow yourself to feel
The pain that comes from change
And a world that feels so strange. 
Dive into this new chapter
And know that joy and laughter
Will be yours once again, dear friend,
As your broken heart ever so slowly does mend. 

You are so very loved.

***