In the Dark Before Dawn
BY MARIANNE TEFFT
Do not lament your sadness
For none has ever drowned
In the floodwater of tears
But many have lost heart
And mind in grief
Suffocated and unexpressed
Do not be afraid to shriek
In anger at all the gods
Shaking your fists and bitter words
As if to make stone walls and tallest hills
Cower from their onslaught
For grief broadcast cannot erode the world
But stifled may topple your foundations
Do not fear the darkness
That swathes your vision
And seizes your thoughts and dreams
For loss is always drenched in indigo
Before rising clad in memory
At ineluctable dawn
Do not be afraid to mourn
For your beloved’s eternal gift
Is the heart that has known love
And the tears of gratitude
That will water the new garden
You may plant day by day
In celebration of summers past
And timeless springs to come
Marianne Tefft
Marianne Tefft daylights as a Montessori teacher in Toronto, Canada. Her poems and short stories have appeared online, on air and in print on six continents. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize. Inspired by two decades in the Caribbean, her third poetry collection, Rainbow Country, is slated to appear in mid-2026.
