I.
I came back to Buffalo
a month after she died, my skin
unused to winter
& surprised
at the sight of my breath
freezing to mist
no one else
would touch her things,
so the second day
I sifted through perfume bottles,
photographs
& packed clothing–
the shell
of a life, glittering
& hard;
empty
in her absence
& collecting dust
II.
the quilt squares
spread in colored rows
each named
& gorgeously stitched
some sequined
a murmuring
fabric memorial
we stepped over
& through–
I saw pain
echoing my own
in her lover’s eyes
& held his hand
as we walked
for us
it was another walk
for my sister;
though this
was not her illness,
we saw her name
embroidered
on each square
III.
after the ground thawed
they set her stone. a flat thing
flush with the earth; a stone
set in rows of stone
like the fabric
of the AIDS quilt
but nothing soft here,
no sequined flush
of color
announcing a beautiful life
So poignant. Triste. And wonderfully expressive. I like the sparse elegance of the piece, no excessive verbiage, just a tipping point word or phrase to guide us through this reflection of a memory.
Merci, David. This one has been simmering for a while.
You can tell. It’s haunting and explosive and personal. A worthy subject and one not to be denied.
I liked the journey of this poem … So lucid and well defined !!!
thanks so much for commenting.
sad, but the love flows!
Thanks, Noel. More love than sad now, thankfully.
I send you hugs – this was too beautiful and sparingly poignant for there to be no hug for you at the end.
oh, thank you Mimi! Hugs welcomed
very nice this is. sometimes i don’t know how to approach something like this. but i’d have to say that second stanza really is the nutshell of the whole piece because there it captures those life like moments. just a feel susan:)
Your feel is spot on, Don! Thanks for sharing.
Okay, this one is making my eyes misty. So well done.
Thanks, Nelle. I have a feeling I have a few more about my sister coming.
ow, deeply moving. May the earth lie gently on her.
Thank you, Celestine. I am certain it does.