September 2024
Bio Note: You can find my poems in numerous journals, The Galway Review, Barstow & Grand V, Honeyguide Literary Magazine, and many more. In 2022 I published a chapbook, As I Lay Dreaming, and Kelsay Books published my two full-length collections, The Right Mistakes and The Widow’s Lovers. It was a very busy year!
Red Clay Hands
Surprisingly, he wants to do an archaeological dig,
an unusual date for folks over sixty, I say,
but it’s on his bucket list, so today we dig.
He’s taking advantage of my interest in history.
On the way he says he needs my assistance.
With serious hearing loss, he fears he won’t capture
directions, and wants me to make sure he does it right.
He asks timidly, kissing my hand.
Participating in a dig should be fun, right?
We’re both strong enough to do the work,
so we shovel, shake and sift for four hours
but only he finds a significant piece–
a 17th century pipe stem, certified by our dig leader.
Happy, satisfied and loving me a little more,
he drives us from the farmhouse dig site, dirty
but pleased with our partnership as much as the dig.
We hold each other’s red clay hands
all the way home.
She Wants to Talk about Downsizing
I kept the crystal that my mother,
her mother and my mother-in-law
knew was more important than price.
I kept the art, instruments, candles,
and books that make me feel like me.
I kept irreplaceable photographs
to which my heart is directly attached.
I kept some of the tchotchkes gifted by friends
or family, and all the lovingly given angels
for a collection my children began for me.
I kept everyday dinnerware and my own
set of china, selected with my beloved
when we were beginning our love story.
I kept furniture that I knew would fit,
and bought new for the too-small spaces.
I kept enough to make me feel at home,
and gave away enough to help me feel
like space was not an issue.
Everything else, I released and watched it go,
or gave it to young family members
who do not know yet that they want it.
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