Category: grief
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no anesthesia
Spiraled black-speckled flypaper waves in the wind from the porch For family summer picnic fun on the farm flies trapped in glue, struggle till they die Chickens, a pig and a cow are slaughtered deviled eggs, tomatoes and green beans prepared Rocky mountain oysters sit fried in a bowl on the table Harvested from ball…
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hand-made chocolate shakes
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For the surgical nurse who I worked with when I was drafted I remember sneaking out the service door in the alley behind the hospital Jogging to an ice cream shop for hand-made chocolate shakes while you stood guard at the door We would sit in the nurses’ lounge – you would tell me your…
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Pandemic Meditation on the Second Anniversary of My Mother’s Passing
1) This morning On the second anniversary Of my mother’s passing I listened to birds in trees While contemplating how hard It must be to not be allowed to sit With love ones who are dying Breathing out this damned virus In vapors of last breaths 2) I remember how my sister texted That mom…
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a monk on fire (for John Prine)
because I heard he may be dying I listened to hours of John Prine before I went to bed My wife peeked her head in my office told me an owl was hooting in a tree I never understood a hooting owl why they warned the night they would be up and hunting my Uncle…
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Hiding to be found
She ran away left a husband and two boys Said nothing, didn’t leave a note She called her parents’ house once asked to talk with her dad Her mother cussed her out and said don’t call again Her brother’s seen her a couple times she asked about her dad and sons She didn’t make her…
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Front yards
You want a house on the edge of town land enough for a garden, chickens and guinea hens You want a screened porch to keep mosquitoes at bay and a stately oak tree to day dream under You want a nice cafe and coffee shop to walk to an independent book store next to the…
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haiku for a gentle friend
gentle songs of loss bare feet sought ground’s redemption a night made holy 2-13-20
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Traversing darkness while moving toward light
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I sat with a friend around a fire in our yard We talked of children, the craft of writing, of basketball an ideal job, a feral cat he gave a friend and the one he still feeds on his porch We talked of possums, guinea hens, ticks, raccoons and a hawk that swooped up a…
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for Mel
Overhead fractured sunlight through bare limbs Clouds race towards sun set The text said my sister’s husband fled with clouds at noon We say we are happy for him But for those that stay to rake dry leaves in memory piles it is a sad exercise and all we can do is let them rake…
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Boomer Bovine Blues
Ziploc gladness is a plastic bag full with blueberries cool and sweet to eat while watching cable news Blue like B.B. King riffing in a club waiting for closing time and someone or anyone to take you home Milk the cows of gladness joy in a bucket – butter and cream tug the teats –…
My husband's poetry 