Coping With Grief
/After his mother's funeral,
Oliver remained in the pews.
He told the pastor he needed a minute.
The time, he said, take all that you need.
People trickled through the glass double doors,
thinning to him alone before God's throne.
Oliver pulled a Redhook out of his bag
and sipped the bottle half-full.
Oliver carried heavy questions for God.
The king of the pantheon of God's,
who answered to no other.
Oliver expected no answer
to the questions that sliced
through the tension
of the insurrection warring
against his broken-hearted cliche.
Oliver set the bottle beside his feet.
He bowed his head over prayer hands.
The sun faded its rays, withdrawing its light
from the stained-glassed sanctuary.
Oliver's lips moved.
He loosened his tie
and returned his attention
to seeking understanding.
But he found no answers
to his mother's death.
But he found himself
in the warmth of God's love.
Oliver didn't understand it now,
but God said he would someday.
By Andy Cooper
From: United States
Twitter: AC0040