I asked my grocer friend,
\nwoman of a graceful smile,
\na hundred subtle expressions,
\ncashier at Krogers, how she was.
\nThere was determination
\nin her eyes.
\nA lock on her lips.
\nSomething imprisoned inside her.
\nThe bleakness of a bird,
\nunable to rise from the grass.<\/p>\n
Push the items over the checkout.
\nPush the groceries in a pile.
\nPush life away, item by item.
\nCost of living.
\nSums to be paid.
\nDishwater down the drain.
\nOne breath of sorrow at a time.
\nHer eyes flooded by confusion.
\nWent to a funeral, she said.
\nI watched my items gather.
\nSomeone close, I asked?<\/p>\n
My girl friend\u2019s son, she muttered,
\nas if blowing the words over her lips
\nto relieve their numbness.
\nHe was eighteen, her only child,
\nthen sharpening a knife edge,
\nshe added,
\nhe died of H1N1.
\nThe pandemic flu, they said was mild,
\nexcept for killing the young.
\nShe bags my things
\nquickly, as if that was enough.
\nDeath by predator.
\nThe invisible ghost of a virus.<\/p>\n
There are four falcons that
\nhave perched in the honey locust
\ntree, across my street.
\nThe tree is a plume of golden glory!
\nIts leaves will fall in a day or two.
\nWinter is colorcast in the gray sky.
\nThe beautiful lasts,
\nonly as long as it can last.
\nSomething for the cover
\nof a boy\u2019s grave,
\nsomething for a mother\u2019s hands
\nto hold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I asked my grocer friend, woman of a graceful smile, a hundred subtle expressions, cashier at Krogers, how she was. There was determination in her…<\/p>\n