How do you learn to live without someone you love? How do you exist in a world where they’re not coming through the door anymore?

This is for anyone whose body keeps reaching for someone who’s not there, whose grief doesn’t clock out or take weekends off. For anyone learning that missing someone isn’t something you get over. It’s something you learn to carry.

Without You

I don’t know how to do this. 
How to exist in a world 
where you aren’t coming through the door. 
 
My body keeps running old code.
It keeps reaching for the phone 
to text you something funny,
keeps looking for you in crowds.
 
The air has a hiss I can’t locate.
 
I keep thinking maybe I’ll get used to it. 
I don’t.
It cuts me fresh every damn day.
 
Nights blur into mornings,
mornings into nights.
I keep moving because that’s what people do, 
but inside, 
inside, it’s a place after someone moved out fast – 
nail holes, 
marks on the wall, 
air that feels wrong.
 
Sometimes I want five minutes of neutral.
Five minutes where my chest is just a chest,
not a wound with lungs in it.
 
But this grief has no weekends,
no brakes, 
it just sits with me.
I can hear it breathe.
 
I still talk to you.
I still reach for you in the dark,
in that half-dream state
where my brain hasn’t loaded reality yet,
where for a second 
you’re still just one room over.
 
But then I wake up 
all the way.
 
And it’s just me,
and the room,
and the ache
that knows the floorplan.

(2021, © Julia Delaney)

Without You

Grief doesn’t follow timelines or take breaks. It’s that unwelcome roommate that’s learned to make itself at home. Some days that feels impossible, and some days it’s the only thing keeping you alive. Both are true.

Be Alive 🌱
Love ❤️, Julia

Rhyme & Reason

DISCLAIMER: The materials and the information contained on the Julia Delaney website are provided for general and educational purposes only and do not constitute any legal, medical, or other professional advice on any subject matter. None of the information on our videos is a substitute for a diagnosis and treatment by your health professional. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers prior to starting any new diet or treatment and with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provider.

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