Oh, love.

Well, I wouldn't lie to you. There is a tremendous amount of pain in living.

A sorrow in being alive.

There's an ache in my bones and a longing for everything.

Just, all of it.

The past and the future, so understood.

Ligaments and tendons, stretching and creaking. Holding me together.

We tell stories of her, here, now.

We laugh and tears well up in the back of my throat. My head is sticky and my cheekbones throb.

We laugh and our eyes dull. Take a deep breathe, and push back the pain a little further.

We love you dearly Mawmaw.

Texas is not the same without you,

And neither am I.