as i sat and clicked in the turn lane,
a funeral procession trudged by,
all grim headlights, wipers flinging the rain,
and i thought: someday,
at some family reunion, egg salad and matching shirts,
they’ll look back on this day; they’ll say,
remember sweet uncle’s funeral?
whew! i’ll never forget that day—
the gusts that blew our coats open,
whipped our legs with our skirts,
wrenched a crumpled program from my hand.
dear cousin up north couldn’t even make it,
what with the blizzard. in april!
oh, i thought, the things we remember about funeral days,
the things that clear their throats
just above the haze of hugs and tears,
the things that seep into the corners of the church.
then i turned on the radio.
and i knew,
no. won’t be the weather.
8 Responses to “teeth of the gale”
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Asides
» The latest on SBJ: at one year, he weighs 30.5 pounds (99%), is 32 inches tall (97%) and is 100% cute.
» I have been remiss in posting SBJ’s latest stats: 23 pounds and 27 inches at six months. Yes, I’ve got the big mama biceps.
» Aaaaaand little she-who-is lost another tooth this week!
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Somehow, I was needing to hear from you. Thank you. An unbelievably sad day.
I needed to hear this as well. I live 45 minutes from Virginia Tech. University. This day has been most hellish, with the combination of not knowing and knowing.
There was incredible fear in not knowing. Then there was thankful relief in knowing — the one for whom you were concerned was well. Then there was the horrible awareness of how many others were knowing, and weeping.
Thank you for your poem. I saw the headlines in the airport today, in between flights. My best friend goes to VA Tech. Thankfully, she picked up the phone. And I think of the many friends and family members who did not hear their loved ones today - will not hear their voices again.
So, if you’re going to take yourself out, why not do it first, before you take out others?
Such a terrible, terrible day…
And four days from the Columbine anniversary…
What is it about Mid-April?
Prayers for all…
Thank you, RM.
Same here.