Loss can create deep wounds in heart and soul. and can be very difficult to face without the help of a caring partner, close friends, and/or family. Sometimes these too are not enough. Nature has a way of caring for what is injured in ways that are unimaginable. And sometimes careful words and uplifting thoughts shared within poetry can help just as significantly.
The Aroma of Thawing is a collection of SR Inciardi's poetry dealing with the difficult experience of losing a beloved son, married with two young children, and navigating the anger, disbelief and the journey through the most difficult time in the author's life. It is not specific to the loss of a son, but to grief, loss and recovery in general. The book was written in four parts dealing with the acuity and trauma of grief and loss, the days and weeks after, recognition that life is more than events that happen to us, and lastly that even the coldest days of what we've been through can be replaced with warmth and laughter. Of course, the loss of loved one will never be erased.
When we emerge from winter, there is eventually a thawing permitting dormant life to fade away and then be remade, enabling robust life to resurface. When the winter finally yields to spring, there is a certain aroma in the air, the thawing water decomposes the leaves and all kinds of organic matter to produce a distinct aroma---evidence of life's resurgence---saying clearly that a change is in the air and, in the end, things will get better, even while they can never be the same.