I think it's mammalian, not just human. We've felt a loss that's hard to describe all throughout history. Just because it was common doesn't mean it hurt any le

I think it's mammalian, not just human. We've felt a loss that's hard to describe all throughout history. Just because it was common doesn't mean it hurt any less. Here's the description of a man losing his son, from Beowulf, a thousand years ago: (lines 2444-2464 of Heaney's translation) ----------------------- It was like the misery felt by an old man Who has lived to see his son’s body Swing on the gallows. He begins to keen And weep for his boy, watching the raven Gloat where he hangs: he can be of no help. The wisdom of age is worthless to him. Morning after morning, he wakes to remember That his child is gone; he has no interest In living on until another heir Is born in the hall, now that his firstborn Has entered death’s dominion forever. He gazes sorrowfully at his son’s dwelling, The banquet hall bereft of all delight, The windswept hearthstone; the horsemen are sleeping, The warriors underground; what was is no more. No tunes from the harp, no cheer raised in the yard. Alone with his longing, he lies down on his bed And sings a lament; everything seems too large, The steadings and the fields. Such was the feeling Of loss endured by the lord of the Geats After Herebeald’s death.