Survivor's Guilt

 

Is it the giving of a life?

Or the one that’s left behind

picking up the pieces

of a torn and shattered soul?

Is it the one who gave their all,

or the ones who still remain

carrying their loved one

in a heart upon a chain?

The star that burned so bright

becomes elusive in the distance,

the song of the survivors

bittersweet in it’s refrain…

We cannot change reality

as past slips into memory

tucked away in box and frame.

How does one respond?

We only know they’re gone.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2021