On this the 18^th day of Na/GloPoWriMo, the challenge is to write an elegy in which the sadness is based less on abstraction than concrete verbiage that helps a person feel the depth of sorrow felt.  To that degree, I have admittedly not stayed entirely on point.  I wrote one like that for my older sister when she died called Firefighter 54.  But today, I’m thinking of the time in my life when the 27 closest people in my life died within a fairly short time span.  I pray this never happens to anyone else, but, I’m sure it has. … worse, I am sure it will again.

Like Dominoes Falling
by Michael Romani

One by one they fell
Like dominoes falling
It was my private hell
As each memory came calling

In that year and a half beyond belief
In all those moments boundless grief
Twenty seven of my closest people died
I cannot count the endless nights I cried

My mom, my dad, my sister and little brother
All them dying one after another
I felt as though I might implode
Of anger and grief as I watched my world explode

One foot after the other, I walked
It didn't help no matter how much I talked
My world was turned upside down
Each smile I wore was a secret crying frown

With a stiff upper lip I carried on
Trying to leave this behind and just go on
The weight I carried, carrying me on and on
Into a private abyss at the thought of them gone

My God-parents and my best, closest friends
Torn from my life as though without end
I cursed at God, the darkness and even me
Wondering what I had done to cause this severity

I needed someone to talk to but no one was there
I needed to be brave and yet knew only fear
Who might die next, I stopped letting people get close
I felt I was a pox with death's deadly dose

Falling into myself I talked less and less
Putting pen to paper, I became a poet...I guess
Whispering prayers into writing for no one to read
Until slowly, the steps came easier as I quietly grieved

It may seem that I feel helpless as I seek resilience
But, I have the stars above shining their brilliance
As time passes, I have learned to hold my head high
With a little more time, maybe, I'll forget how to cry

(c)  April 18, 2019  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved