All our travels require a guide
That help with troubles far and wide
Tips and tricks and confirmation too
From where to eat, where to sleep, and where to use the loo
Life is a journey, my father would sometimes say
It requires a guide to lead, through every single day
I lead my family though I am sometimes lost
She needs me to lead when bridges must be crossed
Sometimes she leads when I cannot find the way
As she knows my strength will return on another day
On those days when my strength suddenly returns
She retreats to her keep nursing her concerns
Grace has allowed us to support each other
Our lost little girl now has a lost little brother
I hope they wait for us while we march on
The mutual faith that we base our lives upon
For a while, I was writing one poem a day and Lead was written near the end of a stage of grieving. There was still sadness, yes, but I felt like we were starting to get to a point where we could handle the sadness with more dignity. We were starting to venture out into the world again by making time for family and friends. Some days were better than others, and this is what Lead is alluding to. The section that starts by saying “Sometimes she leads when I cannot find the way” speaks to the fact that we fell apart at different times, but rarely at the same time. When I was down, she was able to manage our home life for a while. When she was down, I was able to manage for a while. We shared the load of keeping our household moving and I think that’s what let us survive.