So That We Might Live

Cecilia’s passing
Was a turning point
For my daughters
And me.
We each struggled
To deal with grief
In our own way.
Mostly we
Turned inward
To sort through
The minefields
Of our feelings
And emotions.
Sometimes
We tormented ourselves
Speculating
What else
We could have
Said or done
That would have
Made a difference.
One thing was clear,
Cecilia had
A will to live
More than anyone else
We knew,
And she wasn’t
Taken easily.
Her death taught us
We could no longer
Take life for granted.
It gave us
A sense of urgency.
Our values changed.
Things that once
Seemed important
Suddenly had
No relevance to us.
Recovery took time,
Much more
Than we could possibly
Have imagined.
Each of us
Eventually emerged
Stronger and more resilient,
Having profited by
What we went through.
In a certain sense,
Cecilia died so that
Each of us might live.