Proof

Grief is not the price of love.
Because love has no price.

Grief is the ache, the fiercest pangs of love.
Because love does not pass or diminish.

It is love’s light,
pressed in on every side
by doubt and fear,
still flickering bravely.

It is love’s arms,
pushing against the boundaries of this life.
Feeling, fighting,
failing, and prevailing
in a search for what is lost.

It is love’s sight,
blinking in the glare at the stubborn horizon.
Seeking, stumbling, doubting
and choosing to go on anyway.

No, grief is not the price.
It is the proof.