You are grieving. Someone you love has died.

You want to talk about it.

Many will not hear you out.

They will interrupt with advice they think is wise

They will say God will give you strength, or

Look within yourself for inner strength,

Some will change the subject or leave.

Some will dismiss your fears or

Tell you what worked for them or

Worse, they will tell you they know how you feel.

Consider yourself blessed whenever

Someone listens to you,

Listens even when your sentences trail off,

To sentences that ramble,

And the words are choked with tears.

Consider yourself blessed when you have a

Heart with ears in your life.

By Mark Teats,

Inspired by Finding Your Way to say Goodbye, by Harold Ivan Smith, pages 11 to 14