Mother, eighty-four, took Uncle
James for a ride yesterday.
Drove her brother to the cemetery
To visit Daddy and Mike.
After, she called their flowers lovely,
Then asked, "Where's Daddy?
Where is my Husband?"
*
For the first time in fifteen years
I dream of Mike, him driving up
In Mother's big Oldsmobile,
Then waiting. We talk, he nods.
Now, I realize he has come
For Mother. As the old ones say
To take her home. I go to her
Bed, grab her hand. I'm waking,
Mother's hand cooling in mine.
*
April 15, 2009
Today, my little sister and I
Will go to select a coffin
For Mother. Eighteen years ago,
I went with Mother to choose
Mike's. Yesterday, my Mother died.
Like a kaleidoscope twisted,
And twisted, the world
Broken, scattered bits of glass.
*
I dreamed of Mother a couple
Of nights ago. She was blond,
And slim, walking by a lake.
The dream was in slow motion,
Washed in silver. A ballet.
A friend offers, she wants you
To know everything's okay,
That in death we're young again.
And me, the dead don't look
Back, that is their earned grace.
Comments
lenchenelf | November 18, 2009 - 18:22
Quietly spoken, serene. atb lenax
bosch | November 18, 2009 - 21:27
lena: Thanks for reading. Your comment is as usual sensitive, and thoughtful. Swep
Organic Love machine | November 20, 2009 - 02:21
'And washed in silver' - that's brilliant
bosch | November 20, 2009 - 12:34
OLM: Thank you. And thanks for reading. Swep
chant | May 17, 2010 - 13:08
i see you've amended the kaleidescope lines and i very much like the changes. in the first poem of the sequence, am wondering if you could lose that final line (Heaven I said, God's first angel). your mother's query is so powerful ('Where is my husband?') that anything after that feels a tad overshadowed, imv. and, in effect, poems 2, 3 and 4 are a response to her question.
bosch | May 17, 2010 - 21:08
chant: Thanks for the "kaleidescope" approval. I'm almost neutral on the last line in the first part but think it does say a little something to her condition in my placating reply, and for me cutting that line would ruin the poem's physical symmetry. Did continue to fool with MAZE and you might take a look to see how your suggestions were handled. Beyond that, SU TUNG P'O is finally finished. Thanks for reading. Swep
tcook | July 12, 2010 - 11:20
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bosch | July 12, 2010 - 17:44
Tony: Thanks for the selection. Swep
bosch | November 19, 2010 - 21:37
blighters rock: Thanks for reading, and for the good remark. Swep