I was inspired by this day’s prompt but didn’t really follow it: “Write your own poem that tells a story in the style of a blues song or ballad.” (https://www.napowrimo.net/day-nineteen-10/)
I need a keening kenning song,
to sing my love,
to pay proper respect to
memories of you.
People aren’t meant
to suffer in silent
stoic strength.
I watch videos of mourning
in other parts of the world:
Proud public displays
of heartbreak and struggle,
communities coming together,
a chorus of intolerable
pain, loss shared.
I need a keening kenning song,
a way to voice my grief.
I need someone to tell me:
It’s good to feel,
you don’t need to buck up,
to get through (but don’t take
too much time).
We carry far too much shame
around our most human feelings.
We hide what we share
most deeply, most truly,
embarrassed by our raw
naked need, as if to say:
We shouldn’t feel.
I need a keening kenning song,
to be human, to dive deep
into lingering love, lost
and lonely together, and so
deeply, painfully, hopefully,
fully alive.
John the Librarian 