CCC #072 | crimson creative  challenge

04.02.2026

What Remains

The wheelbarrow waits,
empty but not unused.

It remembers weight—
warm, living weight—
the rhythm of work,
the soft breath behind my ear,
the kisses pressed into muddy hands.

Letting go wasn’t weakness.
It was love choosing survival
over stubbornness.

Still, the body remembers
what the heart had to release.
Muscle memory of care.
A life measured in mucking,
hay dust, and quiet conversations
with animals who never needed words.

The field looks lighter now.
So do I.
But something faithful lingers—
the part of me that loved fiercely
and did the right thing
even when it hurt.

And that, too,
is a kind of tending.

— Maggie
The Afterlove Voice 💫