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Old Photo

 

Family bar-b-que

You leaning forward

Hand against my back

I am smiling, natural

 

I hated photo posing

You made it easy

Bringing out the me

I was not ready to share

 

You were that kind of guy

A what-you-see- is-what-you get

Unhidden quirks and faults

Made you lovable

 

How I miss the days

Of get togethers, bar-b-ques

Fresh cold cuts and rolls

Penny Annie poker

With little gained or lost

 

Not a mean bone in your body

I was safe to be me

In this game of high stakes

Full of wars and lost limbs

Days I was light the pot

 

You despised wild cards

But you took the hand

You were given

Dealt comfort and kindness,

Pennies from heaven

The Day I Drowned

 

A chorus of sparrows

Dry erased the heavens

Convulsed mountain boulders

To the bottomless sea

 

In my last exhale

I saw them there

Monarchs and magi

Rolled dice of their bones

Reciting scripture like limericks

 

I became another being

Salt in my veins

Drank red sea tea

From a vacant conch

Naked and cold to myself

 

In wordless awe

Those above me

Gazed into my depth

Gulped ambiguous envy

 

Saddened

It was not they

Who took the last breath

Egret

 

I saw you in the river

Standing like an egret

Hunted for your plume

 

On the far bank

Woodland creatures

Locked the forest door

Refused entry

 

The wind sang

I was not ready to cross

Too deep and swift

For me to ford

 

Dagger bill agape

Your wings spread

Smacking the surface

Lifting, water rivulets

From curled talons

 

You were gone

Becoming a cloud

Losing definition

Dispersed in blue wonder

 

In your absence

The river ran dark

Deep and swift like the arrow

That pierced your heart

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