Small circles @BottonoWriter

Topic - Healing

Most of the time, I move forward

Doggedly dragging the experience

I make progress to a point, and then I suddenly stop.

I wonder whether healing is worth all this time.

The loss has been with me for a long while now,

And I either want to free myself from it

Or redefine my connection to her.

I’m not sure which just yet.

My rational mind says ‘Turn your back,

Don’t worry, walk on. It will fall away.’

That is hard to accept,

because I want it to fall away, and I don’t.

I would gladly leave behind the detail,

If I could just have the memories I want,

Remember what she was to me,

Which was more than the way she died

Then I step back from my thinking.

I am where I began.

The nature of grief is no more than small circles.

Poet's biography

Name: Casey Bottono

Place of residence: Truro, Cornwall

Your favourite quote:

'Death ends a life, not a relationship', Morrie Schwartz in Tuesdays with Morrie, written by Mitch Albom.

Your one wish for the world:

My one wish for the world is that we could all come to share a common language of tolerance, compassion and inclusivity.

Where can we find out more about you (Website link): www.caseybottono.com

A small bio about you:

Casey Bottono is a writer and youth workshop leader living in Cornwall. Previously published in the Hard Times Happen anthology (Black Pear Press, 2021), the Lapidus International journal of writing for wellbeing, Mookychick and PETRIe Inventory her work explores themes of bereavement, healing and recovery. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with Creative Writing and a Master of Arts degree in Professional Writing from Falmouth University.