Fire is a poem dedicated to the last day of in-person counselling. An ode to what is going, what is gone, and what is to come. I hope this speaks to you like it spoke to me suddenly on this final day.

When grief greeted me at the door, I did not invite It in. In fact, I did not ask for Its presence either, yet I was unsurprised by Its appearance. It introduced Itself to me, “Hello old friend”, followed by a gentle nod of Its head.

It is common to think that grief centers around losing a person or beloved animal to death. I had this mindset for the longest time, whereby we shed tears of a different pain when someone is lost to us forever…