I think you think you know what you're getting into

I think you think you're ready

That you understand, that letting go comes easy

That it's second nature

I think that at some level, we all wish this were true

But we never really know how attached we are

Or how accustomed we've become to having and holding

To seeing and saying "I love you"

I think we spend so much time promising to never leave

Not because we think we would

But because if we never leave them, then they never leave us

And I think it's safe to be honest, the latter hurts more

When they leave, they leave holes, voids

An emptiness that we believe simply can't be filled

I think it's true what they say about time

That time heals, but it's funny

No one ever tells us that time forgets

I think it's because it isn't true

You never forget their absence

Those significant days

The ones you wish the calendar would simply skip

We close our eyes to them

But even in darkness, we're reminded

Things are complicatedly simple and altogether different

I think we think we know how to handle death

How to stay present in the land of the living

When the one we love isn't

But I think if we were honest

We'd admit we have not a clue

We just wake up and do it