These days I cry every day
Extraordinary light in the kitchen
A certain chord progression
The passing of Mary Oliver

Even in loss we gain
Emotional resilience
Even as we surrender
To the beauty of day to day

Wherefore the Monarch
In orange and black
Will you nevermore
Gently flutter by?

I knew a rhino
Dressed in black
Not coming back
No horn intact

Horror scene
This Holocene
Us? The way of the dodo?
I don’t know

Birth certificate to
Death certificate
Social Security number

Bank accounts
Student loans
Car after car loans

Marriage certificate
Mortgage lien
Title owners with

Spouse and now
Once a son but still
Much, much more

It’s begun

Relationship to insured:
Son. Son. Son.
Date of Birth:
Date of death:
Certification:
SSN:

Life insurance
Annuities
Beneficiaries

Sign and date:

His life’s work done

“It’s fraught,” he said.
BOOM! Wrong pronoun
They would disapprove

“We should…”
BOOM! Not us…
BOOM! Not me!

They them us
He she we
I myself me

Redefined reassign
People can change
In an instant or a lifetime

Language evolves
Evolution is slow
Give it time to grow

Does it never really rain on Venus
Except for that one forgotten day?

Can I go back again to 802,700 and 1
Just four more days and pretend again?

Submerge my Nautilus into the ocean
Plumbing depths of space and mind?

Must it rhyme?

Beware that which you can never ******
Rabbit through another mirror darkly
Endings repeating, more resetting
Choosing left; or just wrongly
Or sing that song again
Oh! It’s amazing the
Ubik places to go
Take it slow
Which pill?
Free will
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