Questions of grief: An exchange

Grief: Part 1

---

I am excited to publish Part 1 of An exchange, a side of the Poetry & Process newsletter where artists explore a topic through an exchange of their art. The first exchange occurred in June of 2024, exploring the topic of Community with poet Jason McBride, with the second published just this past November with author, artist, and environmental champion Katharine Beckett Winship on the topic of Kinship.

This month’s exchange is on the topic of Grief, a series of five pieces written over the past six months, poems from Brian Funke, author of Poetry & Process, and micro essays from Reena Kapoor, author of Arrivals and Departures . A newsletter will be published daily for five days, exploring different aspects of Grief, each publication built on the prior piece.

Enjoy this collaborative effort on Grief.

Grief: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

---

Questions of grief

Brian Funke

Photo by Patrick Miyaoka on Unsplash

Smoke dancing among distant hills,
for years I have thrown my glance that way
and stepped towards, yes, one step
but never two.

A step towards, step, and a step back
through the threshold of the story I have built,
four steadied walls and a shingled roof
and glass to glimpse the hills through,
though I dare not look, dare not look too often
for the view compels me
and I imagine what it means
to leave this all behind,
and the only way, the way of weeping
which I know not appears fraught
with everything one would certainly
be shaken by.

I could wander but the distance is unknown
and who would tend, who, tend the lilies and the lilacs,
tend the lettuce and the lavender
and who would save my home from blight.

If I survive the terrible forest
and the hills do not break my body
and I arrive at the fire that fuels
the dance through these hills,
I fear what one becomes
for in fire the physical is consumed,
trunk charred then limbs blackened
and all brought low to earth and ash.

And the release that fades into wind,
who can speak of this with certainty,
touch fire, touch and become fire
then disappear as pungent smoke
spiraling upwards in a soft, whirling dance
to join the place among the gods,

no,
seated among the gods.

---

Thank you for reading Part 1! Please leave a comment about what strikes you, speaks to you, or stirs in you while you read. Perhaps consider what the path of grief means for you.

Part 2, authored by Reena, will be published tomorrow! Until then…

May you trust the earth to tend the lilies…

Brian

---

---

---