When A Story Dies

A poem about loss

Michael D. Warden

Sep 16, 2023

WHEN A STORY DIES

by Michael D. Warden

You will feel lost
All of the maps
you have known
will fail you
leave you
utterly abandoned
in a new land
that does not know
your name

You will feel foolish
like you ought
to have known
like you should
have seen it coming
This is merely avoidance
You were never
in control

You will be tempted
to hate
to blame
to find a scapegoat
to soothe your fear
This will be distraction

Here is what has happened:
The ground is gone
The contours
of the landscape you loved
have collapsed
and disappeared
Though you beg them
they will not return

Breathe.
Surrender the panic
your mindless scramble
let your body
sink
into this vast
unknowing

What’s it like?
this waking
from a dream
you thought
was your life?
Tell me
What’s been lost?

You must grieve
the fading echo
of every truth
you used to know
they were your teachers
they brought you here

From now on
you’ll need deeper senses
to find your way
Wonder and Whimsy
and the things you know
before anyone says them

Let yourself
be swept up
in the awe
of your unmaking

Let the angels
of your questions
open you
to reckless adventure
the wild
free running
landscapes
of fresh possibility

In time
a new way
will unfold there
a deeper, truer tale
than any you have known

When you have found
at last
the new ground
of your belonging
Turn
and help the other
falling down
beside you
and the enemy
who wants you dead
who believes
somehow
you caused all this

For both of them
are you
and are worthy
of your love