Erica Stenta Willis: From Sleeping to Ceremony

From Sleeping to Ceremony

1 moment before my eyes are guided open by a pinch of light—
my brain shifts from imaginatory to cerebral.

in 3 seconds— it’s again revealed.
he is gone.

a brief moan erupts from my chest
and, like every other morning, I wonder how to do the next 12 hours.

I speak to him out loud and telepathically
conveying that I miss him and how our separation throbs.

I grab my heavenly journal and write him letter 98
while silently pleading with God to let him read it.

I tread down the stairs to look at his poster,
and request from him a sign.

I play a song that violently scrapes the inside of my heart,
pinging memories that gut everything beneath my skin.

another day has just begun, leaving
approximately 12,775 more morning awakenings.

35 more years of leaving flowers, invoking his name, and
ribboning to the floor, completely alone.

Erica Stenta Willis is a grieving mother, a Ventura County, California attorney, and an emerging writer in several genres. She has had poems and essays published in Blue Villa, Rundelania, The Poetry Cove, Reap Thrill, and Mind Matters Magazine, among others.  Aside from working and writing, she is enjoying learning the Spanish language.