The Art of Letting Go, Dear Tahlequah

By: Kathy Gardner

it was 17 days and 1,000 miles
of carrying love, of carrying her —
days and miles that I and so many others have traveled, too.

everyone else seems so relieved
this heartbroken mother has finally let go,
but we loss moms know
it just looks like letting go.

the journey of grief
and what lies ahead of her
involves holding on
and holding on with everything you have.

it is the art of moving forward,
of choosing to keep going,
of rejoining the land of the living

but never truly letting go of the dead.

About Kathy Gardner

Kathy Gardner lives with her husband Charlie and their two busy little boys, Charlie (6) and James (3) in Sandy Hook, CT. Their 3rd child, Tinsley, is already waiting for them in Heaven. Tinsley died suddenly in December 2017 at 32 weeks because of a True Knot in her umbilical cord. Kathy has found comfort in writing poetry to express her grief around losing her daughter and hopes other parents find comfort in her words, too.  She shares about her journey on Less Than One Percent (https://ltop.blog/).