Grief Ripples

Grief can ripple, expanding outward in concentric circles.
After my father-in-law died, my mother-in-law said she was ready.
My mother thought the same thing after my father passed away.
She started wearing his favorite shirts when she went out.

After my father-in-law died, my mother-in-law said she was ready.
Remembering this makes me want to do an inventory of my closets.
My mother would wear his favorite shirts when she went out.
My mother-in-law passed less than 5 years after her husband did.

Sometimes when I look in my closets, this is what I remember.
My mother died 43 years after my father breathed his last.
My mother-in-law died less than 5 years after her husband passed.
Mother's ashes are in an urn, in a columbarium called Heaven's Gate.

Mother died 43 years after my father left this world.
After my father passed away, she said her time was probably soon.
Her ashes are in an urn, in a columbarium called Heaven's Gate.
Grief is ripplng outward still, moving in concentric circles.