Death
No Incentive
There’s no incentive to tell the truth
when you’re already in this deep, he said.
I’m just hoping to die peacefully in my sleep.
Missing Piece (M)
Wanting him to come back before anyone notices a part of the world has not moved since he left
Meat Eaters
These are bowls filled with some kind of black goop.
My friend says it’s the blood from the slaughterhouse
but why would they leave it where innocent people
could step in it? is what I said & he said
that’s the way meat eaters think.
Make Believe
When I’m having
a really bad day,
she said, I pretend
I’m dead & you’d be
amazed how much that
perks you right up.
Living Memory
I carry you with me into the world,
into the smell of rain
& the words that dance between people
& for me, it will always be this way,
walking in the light,
remembering being alive together
Listening Well
the hardest thing is listening well enough to quit worrying about dying
Listening Well (for Erik) (masc)
He had the gift of stopping time
& listening well
so that it was easy
to hear who we could become
& that was the future
he held safe
for each of us
in his great heart
you may ask, what now?
& I hope you understand
when we speak softly
among ourselves
& do not answer
just yet
for our future
is no longer the same
without him
Landscape of the Heart (Feminine)
It is still so new & all we see is the empty space, but that is not how it is in the landscape of the heart. There, there is no empty space & she still laughs & grapples with ideas & plans & nods wisely with each of us in turn. We are proud to have known her. We are proud to have called her friend.
Landscape of the Heart (Masculine)
It is still so new & all we see is the empty space, but that is not how it is in the landscape of the heart. There, there is no empty space & he still laughs & grapples with ideas & plans & nods wisely with each of us in turn. We are proud to have known him. We are proud to have called him friend.
Last Wish
I don’t care what you do when I’m gone, he told us. Just don’t bury me where the dog can find me.
Hobby
I’m just going to hide here in this paper bag until death comes, she said.
It could be a long time, I said. There was a pause & then her head popped out.
You think I should have a hobby while I wait? she said.
Hidden Ocean
She held her grief behind her eyes like an ocean & when she leaned forward into the day it spilled onto the floor & she wiped at it quickly with her foot & pretended no one had seen.
Heaven II
She said you know what heaven is like? & I said I wasn’t sure & she laughed & said grown-ups didn’t know much at all about important stuff & I said I had to agree with her even though I was one of them myself.
Good Stuff
I’ve known for a long time that the good stuff will kill you, he said. but everything else just puts me to sleep
Generations
It came on her without thinking that she was the exact age as her mother was & no matter what, it would have been hard to leave & suddenly all the generations gathered around her in that small kitchen & held her close & they would have blocked the light if they had not come filled with their memories of love.
Fortune Teller
Every summer we had a circus & I always got to be the fortune teller. All the girls wanted to know if they’d have babies & all the boys wanted to find out about the Cubs. We had one neighbor who’d been in the hospital who asked me if I could tell her when she was going to die & I didn’t know what to say so I told her not before her time & then she grabbed my arm & said I was a good boy but that’s not what the doctors said & there I was looking in the crystal ball wishing I had more Gypsy and less Norwegian.
Flower Child
I’m not that afraid of death, she said. I was in the 60’s, so I’ve already been through a lot of stuff I don’t understand.
Forever
How old do you have to be to die? he said & I said I didn’t think anybody was ever old enough & that made sense to him since he was still new to the world & remembered how forever had been.
Easy Going
I get along better with my relatives, he said, now that most of them are dead. (Big rocks so they won’t be able to get out early)
Empty Spaces
After his father died he carried his life more gently & left an empty space for the birds & other creatures.