Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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Grief Unveiled. I have experienced grief several times during my 82 years-- A brother John, was only 20, a victim of a hunting shooting, Where the unknown shooter shot in the air with no backing; A father, his age at only 57, worn out from childhood rheumatic fever, Which manifested its final blow from a weakened heart, After testing high altitude breathing equipment during WW II; A wife, Maggi, driving exam results from the University To me in the field for proofreading and correction, When her topheavy Land Rover overturned on a washboard dirt road-- The collision gently broke her neck, leaving no bodily mark; A dearly beloved grandson, died in a terribly horible car crash, The horror shared with two companion boy friends, also dead. A wife of 31 years, who died with a body riddled with cancer-- A great loss for me and her surrounding world. I have never cried or became angry, But rather have created a hand created marker, Or created an endowment for students in our names together, Or written narratives extolling their contributions to us all. This type of grief behavior has been labelled as instrumental grief. Intuitive grief is shown through emotion, Such as crying, anger or outright emotional behavior. I have, until I learned about these differences, Thought I had not properly grieved. It is a relief to now understand that I am not 'cold hearted', And that many other fellow Homo sapiens, similarly grieve. Frank Maurer 16 December 2023 1645 Hours.