The Moment of Loss

THE MOMENT OF LOSS

The instant comes,

that moment of loss:

the kind of moment you read about,

but deny it could ever happen to you:

Like Moses when he learned

that after forty years in the wilderness

he wouldn’t be allowed to step foot in the promised land

because of one mistake.

the astronauts of Apollo 13

when they realized they had lost the moon,

and that they would return home empty-handed

if they made it back at all;

The rocket that falls just short of escape velocity,

the moment the horse is broken,

the pet that knows it is not coming back home from the vet;

The day we realize

they won’t recover,

and that whatever was there

won’t be coming back.