Price of Love

Such a price, this pain,
to have love in our lives
the greater the love
the greater the loss
when it comes

The greater the loss,
the greater the grief -
a law of physics
Proportional
inescapable
immutable

Do I grieve for you
or grieve for me
or is the grief the same?

Dare I smile in this sad time,
is my love less strong,
if my sadness subsides?

What weight my loss abides.
We cannot change it
We cannot help
It must be finished -
in its own time,
in its own way

We help our friends
by grieving too
and allowing tears to flow

Allow the pain and embrace it all,
Allow the river to run its course
and serenity be restored.

Each one alone in the final hour
but loving just the same -
but grieving just the same,
together -
all alone

Remember too the price that’s paid
to never know this pain -
to never know what it is to love
nor what it is to lose that joy -
to never once have known it

Those who love must bear the pain,
but the joy lives on inside us
The grief must fade and then give way
to the happiness and memories we’ve lived

More joy in one moment,
more joy in one day
then ever those empty souls
in all their lives have seen

Safe from grief,
they cannot know
the pleasure
of a tear
when shed for another