1 Poem by Kristin Roedell

To Stop Grieving Her

(for my eldest)

Let go of what you've lost.
It's where Grace is found,
or what the Holy Ghost means,
or why the stars sometimes fall,
but still trail glorious tails.
You can put up a white marker
for every absent touch, with bones,
with ashes, with stones;
even a feather, set lightly on water
will help you lay a loss.

This is the way I learned
when the one I loved first
had gone:

Find a feather from a small bird.
Set it on the river, and let
the rippling current take it.
You may lean over the grassy bank
but you cannot pluck it out.

Then mourn, that feather
once took flight; at night
it drew close to the stars.

When it comes to the river's bend,
when it’s just a bit of light,
let that lovely child
go by.


Bionote

Kristin Roedell graduated from Whitman College (B.A. English 1984) and the University of Washington Law School (J.D. 1987). Her poetry has been published The Journal of the American Medical Association, Switched on Gutenberg, Damselfly, and CHEST. She is the author of a chapbook (Girls with Gardenias, 2012, Flutter Press), and a full length poetry collection (Downriver, Aldrich Press, 2015.) She currently serves as a poetry editor for VoiceCatcher journal. Her website can be found at: kristinroedell.wikidot.com