i met another one.
this time, holding
a baby just
a few days past
a month old.
she was pregnant
when her husband died.
she was left in the
place that
so many of us have
found ourselves.
but i didn’t know that.
not yet.
…
she smiled when we
met, i smiled back,
talking to her baby.
then she told me.
…
i should be able
to hide my shock,
my outrage,
my sadness,
after all of this
time, but i’m sure that
my face showed
all of those
emotions at once.
…
she asked a lot
of questions,
and quickly my
shock, outrage, sadness
turned into something else.
i had resources for her.
lots of them.
the ones that many of
us have used
to help get us
past those initial
awful moments/feelings/realities.
…
and i think you’ll
be meeting her
sometime soon,
through widow match,
through a widow’s voice,
at camp widow.
so please welcome her
when the time
is right.
she didn’t want
to be here,
but she is,
and it’s because of
you that she will
make it through.