Losing you was like winter in Alaska.

Warm summer days dwindled
as a chill crept over the land.

The seasons started to change,
leaves drifted to the ground,

and when you joined them,
the sun stopped climbing into the sky

leaving me in a world
without light.

Life without you has been a season of dusk.
Even though your absence is eternal

the sky keeps reminding me
darkness won’t last forever:

Gray will eventually turn blue
as tears turn to smiles when I think of you.

_______________________________________________________________________

Madelyn Kreienheder is a graduate student at Truman State University, where she will graduate with a Master’s in Education. She is completing her student teaching now and will begin her career teaching English following her graduation. Madelyn’s first published poetry appeared in The Big Windows Review Issue 17.