I wrote this a couple of years ago …… its about enabling the bereaved to take thier time , not to rush or be rushed into packing away thier deceased loved one. I often wonder why we do this and why others arpound us encourage the packing up and removal of thier belongings …… does doing this make the pain less , does it mean we forget more quickly or is it about thier feelings and concerns Id love to hear your thoughts … meanwhile heres the poem …. Alex

Leave The Coat

Leave the coat hang on the door

The hat the shoes the things they wore

Allow yourself the space to grieve

Indulge your pain when loved ones Leave

Tidy up another day but never put their space away

Well meaning friends may think it’s strange

And pack them up and rearrange

It’s hard to know what things to say

To help someone pack their grief away

But sometimes all you need to do

Is sit and listen and be you

And let them talk and share the pain

And gently present to remain

Grieving never goes away

It walks beside us every day

Sometimes it feels a little less and others raw and more distress.

But slowly as times move on it may

And slowly we put things away

The space they leave will always stay

The space they leave will always stay

Don’t hide your grief wear it share it

A J