Displacement

There are times

when I cannot look
my own grief in the eye

There are times

when TV, internet, alcohol
are the only medication for the mind

There are times

when grief and loss are expressed
only through displacement

At those times

I can cry a deluge
for Princess Diana, Whitney, Mandela

At those times

I link to collective grief,
break down the party wall

After those times

I blow my nose
and carry on.