Bargaining

Bargaining - Book II of A Study in GriefIf Denial is the quiet refusal to believe it's over, Bargaining is the desperate arithmetic that follows - the if only, what if, I'll change logic of a mind trying to negotiate its way back to before.These poems plead, promise, and reason with an absence that can't hear any of it. They count years spent, list every fault taken on as their own, offer up better versions of themselves in exchange for one more chance. There's a restlessness here that's different from Denial's stillness - a mind working overtime, trying every angle, convinced that the right words or enough remorse might still change the outcome. Some poems reach outward, arguing a case to someone no longer listening. Others turn inward, cataloging every mistake as if confession alone might undo it.A voice caught between begging for another chance and quietly admitting it might not deserve one - A hand still reaching for someone who already let go.