May 2022
1.
My socks always find a match
Since you’re gone
And I seemed to have inherited a few odd pairs
Not mine
From inside the broken washing machine
Stacked but not old
(Wish I could say the same for me)
Five years to be exact
That’s from Dave
Who manages my cranky rental
The only home we never share in 35 years
It’s been nine months
Since I found you there
Lying on your bed
Your mobile phone still in your hand
Your knee bent skyward
The soft warm blanket
I laid on you
Kicked to the foot of the bed
Were you dialing heaven honey?
Ahead of your arrival
You didn’t respond to my screams
Although you may have heard them
From some heavenly realm
Since you’re gone
I’ve been through
Too many to count
Boxes of tissues
From the dollar store.
You remember it as the dollar store
But Honey did you know
It’s now a dollar twenty-five
The cost of inflation
And it hasn’t been that long
Since you’re gone.
It may all make sense to you now
Not to me
We were supposed to grow old together
Really old
You would be ninety-five before the unthinkable happens
But life had other plans
Best laid
I couldn’t say
What do I do from here?
Where do I go
What can I say
You did it all
Work
Shop
Cook
Clean
You never gave up the reins
You never could
And I
Clinging on for dear life
Since you’re gone
My scrambled eggs taste flat
Thank God for microwaves and salsa
I don’t buy those small cupcakes
That you and I shared over morning coffee
You know the tasty ones from Publix
With loads of icing
Piled high
That sticks to the roof of your mouth
Like peanut butter.
And I only have one jar of garlic
In the spice cabinet
Not ten like we used to
No, the cranky rental didn’t come with a spice cabinet
I’m good with salt and pepper
Occasionally garlic
Casper lives with me now
He snores as you did
Sometimes in the night
I think the poor dog is you
Comforting to hear his soft doggy sounds
Funny
Little things mean so much to me now.
2.
Just the other day
A dragonfly
Passed so nearby
And you are so far away
Can anyone know why
A butterfly flapped her wings
In search of an appetite
She’ll never have
Can anyone tell me why
He had to die.
My socks always find a match
Since you’re gone
And I seemed to have inherited a few odd pairs
Not mine
From inside the broken washing machine
Stacked but not old
(Wish I could say the same for me)
Five years to be exact
That’s from Dave
Who manages my cranky rental
The only home we never share in 35 years
It’s been nine months
Since I found you there
Lying on your bed
Your mobile phone still in your hand
Your knee bent skyward
The soft warm blanket
I laid on you
Kicked to the foot of the bed
Were you dialing heaven honey?
Ahead of your arrival
You didn’t respond to my screams
Although you may have heard them
From some heavenly realm
Since you’re gone
I’ve been through
Too many to count
Boxes of tissues
From the dollar store.
You remember it as the dollar store
But Honey did you know
It’s now a dollar twenty-five
The cost of inflation
And it hasn’t been that long
Since you’re gone.
It may all make sense to you now
Not to me
We were supposed to grow old together
Really old
You would be ninety-five before the unthinkable happens
But life had other plans
Best laid
I couldn’t say
What do I do from here?
Where do I go
What can I say
You did it all
Work
Shop
Cook
Clean
You never gave up the reins
You never could
And I
Clinging on for dear life
Since you’re gone
My scrambled eggs taste flat
Thank God for microwaves and salsa
I don’t buy those small cupcakes
That you and I shared over morning coffee
You know the tasty ones from Publix
With loads of icing
Piled high
That sticks to the roof of your mouth
Like peanut butter.
And I only have one jar of garlic
In the spice cabinet
Not ten like we used to
No, the cranky rental didn’t come with a spice cabinet
I’m good with salt and pepper
Occasionally garlic
Casper lives with me now
He snores as you did
Sometimes in the night
I think the poor dog is you
Comforting to hear his soft doggy sounds
Funny
Little things mean so much to me now.
2.
Just the other day
A dragonfly
Passed so nearby
And you are so far away
Can anyone know why
A butterfly flapped her wings
In search of an appetite
She’ll never have
Can anyone tell me why
He had to die.
