for Poets United Poetry Pantry
1000 Miles Later
Seventeen days 1,000 miles later
Talequah has dropped her dead calf.
Perhaps she is no longer sad and has
accepted the inevitability of death and life –
Perhaps she was where she wanted to bury
her dead calf – perhaps her heart said
Let go.
I picture the dead calf slowly sinking
to rest upon the bottom on the sand
asleep and at peace at last.
Talequah is healthy and leaping in the ocean.
The heart can only take so much grief
before it kills you
or sets you free.
We humans saw and wept with her.
Now perhaps she is telling us to move on,
to leap with joy, to wipe our tears.
I have been carrying my dead mother
for over a year.
The heart can only take so much grief
Before it kills you or sets you free.
I am sitting on my back porch
listening to the birds singing,
taking in the warmth of the sun,
watching the clouds dance overhead.
It is time.
It is time.
It is time.
onenews.com
kanzen sakura 
Aug 12, 2018 @ 14:35:29
only the heart knows when it is time to release and let go; it works and breathes to its own mysterious ways ….
and so it is she has found peace, we hope ~ and pray for joy in this collective and collected relief;
and may you too know when it is time to let go, and release what it is you must, in order to find peace and the quiet calm of knowing what it is you will always hold closely in your heart
Aug 12, 2018 @ 17:41:01
I am in the process of letting go. At last. 14 months and 500,000 miles later.
Aug 12, 2018 @ 15:46:38
Oh my God, Toni, this is powerful. Yes, the heart can only take so much grief. A researcher who has followed her on her journey suggested perhaps the calf decomposed. Whatever the reason, i am relieved for her to not be carrying that burden. She woke the world up to the orca’s plight and i am glad so many heard. What a fabulous poem this is. I will e you.
Aug 12, 2018 @ 16:05:15
So true that a heart can only take so much grief before it kills you or sets you free. I am glad she finally let go of her baby. I hope she will begin to revitalize again now that she has let go of the dead calf. Sometimes it is JUST time! Powerful words.
Aug 12, 2018 @ 16:11:31
Oh my … such powerful, emotive words bearing great wisdom. Wow.
Aug 13, 2018 @ 00:26:27
We had seen her mourning. She has taught us to be with Time and learn to let go. Humans carry the loved ones in their memory till their last breath. The poem is so moving Tony. And beautiful.
Aug 13, 2018 @ 00:29:29
kaykuala
I am sitting on my back porch
listening to the birds singing,
taking in the warmth of the sun,
watching the clouds dance overhead.
These are leisurely moments experienced occasionally as a reward by those privileged for all the good done to all others!
Hank
Aug 13, 2018 @ 05:49:53
Yes, to suddenly notice the vibrancy of nature’s beauty is the first sign of releasing the initial intensity of grief.
Aug 13, 2018 @ 07:21:15
Wonderful, Toni. A time for everything.
Aug 13, 2018 @ 14:29:08
That was such a sad scene. She is more human than most humans I know!
Aug 13, 2018 @ 15:44:09
Yes she is
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Aug 13, 2018 @ 15:59:35
What an intense expression of what you (and I) are still going through. Because of so many issues that surrounded my mother’s death, I still feel as though I am on step one. Pray for each other!
Aug 13, 2018 @ 16:14:48
Every day dear Victoria ❤