Incomprehensible News  by Nancy Schatz Alton

I hear the news from you

& I’m broken open

even as

I’m the one

who’s supposed to hold you

sometimes we hold each other.

 

I make tea

& the dog

sits with us

we are us on the couch

not comprehending this loss.

 

We take it in

& we don’t

we can’t

breathe in the depth

of the misery of this world.

 

Instead we traverse

& travel

easier paths

while holding what cannot

be held: too much loss.

 

Some cracks are too deep

& we merely

stand on the edge

together talking of easier

losses: all loss being loss.

 

We drink our tea

& the blankets

add shelter

& the dog adds

the idea of rebirth.

 

If we’re going to lose

& everything we will lose

let us come back

more joyful: as dog

a dog who connects us on the couch.

 

On this day

& every day

all the days

strung like the Christmas lights

bright as long as possible.

 

Until one blinks out

& every other light

turns off

says no: not you

not your light, not that way.

 

You tell me the news

& we hold each other

with tea and easier news

oh, how we can’t hold

the real news: too much loss.