Alicia Cook

The strongest people I know
make the decision every day to wake up
and place their two feet on the ground

I carry you with me all of the time, but I feel your absence most on the days when I’m the happiest.

Not when I need you here the most,

but when I want you here the most.

I believe grief is like a shadow.

It is impossible to escape this world unscathed.

So, embrace this m e s s y,

un certain existence

and live