Life breaks us down (In memory of my brother)

Bit by bit life breaks us down,
but loss works faster...

Friends say 'Two years have gone.
It's time to pull yourself together:
don't churn things over in your mind! '

(Later, I think - never at the time,
'No!  THINGS churn ME over:
it's the other way round! ')

Or they say 'You have to carry on,
get your feet back on the ground,
be practical and face reality! '

They're right of course,
in a hard, unfeeling way.
Perhaps I need their tough resolve
to stubbornly survive each day.