Emmy Marucci discusses Grief and Poetry

“Grief is universal. It’s one of the few things every human being experiences—no matter where you are from or who you become. Although it can look different for everyone, it’s one of the ‘knowns’ in life. We’ll lose someone or something, and we’ll feel it deep down in our bones.”

—Emmy Marucci

Emmy Marucci is a writer and photographer who brings artistic expression to the human experience. Her work explores family, love, and nostalgia through words and photographs, and she seeks to draw readers in with raw and relatable imagery and emotions. In this poet spotlight, Marucci discusses a shared, yet deeply personal experience she seeks to spotlight in her poetry: grief. 

Emmy Marucci: “I’ve received countless stories from readers who have read my book and who have felt connected to the grief that I wrote about in the book when I lost my grandfather. The readers are able to replace his name with someone they lost—a mother, a brother, a lover, a friend, a job—and so it doesn’t matter that the poem might be about someone close to me. The readers have found a way to write their own stories within my poems. That’s been the most magical thing to see.”

Marucci’s description of her readers’ relationship with her words is so profound. A poet’s magic comes from their ability to write pieces that their audience can see themselves in and resonate deeply with. 

When dealing with a topic like grief, individual stories vary, but the fundamental experience of loss and pain is universal. Marucci’s words may have been penned in honor of one specific person, but the result is a piece of poetry that speaks to grieving souls everywhere. Its impact is multiplied as readers find comfort and connection. 

Marucci knows the importance of moving through grief and helping others do the same. Her poems are a vulnerable, relatable glimpse into a season of suffering and loss. So many readers can relate to the raw emotion in each piece she writes and draw comfort as they see common threads in their own stories. 

Sharing about our grief with one another through poetry is an opportunity to link arms with other hurting souls who have experienced similar depths of pain and heartbreak. Grief can ebb and flow, sneaking up on us when we least expect it, but it is a comfort to know that so many others have felt it too. If you or someone you love are in a season of grief, I hope that Marucci’s work will be a reminder that you are never truly alone. Grief is personal and extremely painful, but sometimes we can find unexpected comfort in the words of another kind soul who has been there. 

it’s like an ache

this loss

feels like
an ache
between my ribs 

it’s sad
and scary 

but soft
and steady 

it’s always there
humming loudly
beneath it all 

beneath it all

sometimes
it rests
and
just whispers

ssshhhhhhhh

it only takes
one
moment
of missing you
to make it roar

For more work from Emmy Marucci, be sure to check out her poetry collection, Tell Me Another Story: Poems of You and Me.