Category: Death & Afterlife
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The rehearsal
We rehearse for a performance unaware it has begun until applause begins We don’t know, if it is for the curtain opening or closing We wait for silence to adlib the next line “A pearl doesn’t know it’s value or understand it irritated the oyster…..” before the clapping begins again 4-1-21
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dead limb
at some point a dead limb that hung caught In branches above the road fell it must’ve been while we were gone and the city hauled it away 4-1-21
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haikus from Congaree with the grandson
brown snake suns on log bright flowers bloom on green stem turtle swims nearby grey dead pine stands tall cypress wades water knee deep woodpecker loves both lichen grows on logs wind counsels trees about death birds call down the sun 3-26-21
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Woodpecker tree
Barkless trunk stares out from park Grey spire among the green Woodpecker tree stands dying Beak thwacks on wood Hopes something sticks its head out To see whose knocking Maybe the living will gather you in its branches Prop you up a little longer Before you go to ground Until you snap off in a…
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poems from the park
Whooo…Whooo…Hoot, Whooo Owl in park pulls you from a dream Whooo…Whooo…Hoot, Whooo Now – it roosts in your backyard tree Whooo…Whooo…Hoot, Whooo It warns night of death’s damnation Whooo…Whooo…Hoot, Whooo Ritual litany to scare and flush prey Whooo…Whooo…Hoot, Whooo A swoosh, then roaring silence Owl coos an apologist’s prayer, plunges his beak into penitent flesh,…
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Gospel tree
not yet ready to lie down among leaves the tree knows death blows kisses in the wind offers its body a piece at a time to the living 2-23-21
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obituaries
Every morning you check obituaries To see if you have died or are just hanging out To haunt family and friends 2-17-21
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poem for her husband’s passing
She wrote It’s been a long journey He passed away this morning I’m ok Our son is here for a few days Family and friends support me Due to COVID There will be no service, but some day In the future, we will gather for stories and food Love to you For your friendship all…
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Sitting with M.C.
“…..let us then try to climb the mountain, not by stepping on what is below us, but to pull us up by what is above us…..” M.C. Escher M.C. and I sit between hemispheres, Discuss whether we are descending or ascending. Is the floor a ceiling or just a floor? Hands reach out from chests…
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Hacking the mycorrhizal web
in wet leaves I stand under trees try to reach toes deep into mycorrhizal web hack fungal messages learn to translate maple, oak and pine in private chat rooms ask them to foretell my dying 12-15-20
