When Things Get Back to Normal (11 page)

I'll end this Afterword with lines from the poem “Lament,” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The poem spoke very strongly to me in the early days of my grief. Indeed, it still speaks strongly to me, even though I now have the answer to the “why” in the poem.

Life must go on,

And the dead be forgotten;

Life must go on,

Though good men die;

Anne, eat your breakfast;

Dan, take your medicine;

Life must go on;

I just forget why.