I recollect my first impression of death:
In an old 70s beige GM car, an overcast day
in a Winnipeg parking lot,
I was four, five or six maybe,
it seemed nebulous and strange, yet
an oncoming unseen hurdle to be feared, reckoned with
at a later date, when age itself seemed abstract -
making me feel even smaller in the back seat.
Second time on a bus ride to school,
a dew heavy Kingston morning, the traffic slowed
to molasses and the driver asked a passerby
why the commotion – a dead woman in the bush.
I glimpsed her arm, a solemn shade of brown,
reaching out into the air, making fun of the day
and embellishing mine with playtime dread.
My bus drove on to its familiar route
and I settled back down
and I thought this breaking day was her final loss…
The sun overflowing and happy,
turning everything real and unreal
and perilous without reason.
Apr 6, 2021
Apr 6, 2021 at 3:02 PM UTC
I recollect my first impression of death:
In an old 70s beige GM car, an overcast day
in a Winnipeg parking lot,
I was four, five or six maybe,
it seemed nebulous and strange, yet
an oncoming unseen hurdle to be feared, reckoned with
at a later date, when age itself seemed abstract -
making me feel even smaller in the back seat.
Second time on a bus ride to school,
a dew heavy Kingston morning, the traffic slowed
to molasses and the driver asked a passerby
why the commotion – a dead woman in the bush.
I glimpsed her arm, a solemn shade of brown,
reaching out into the air, making fun of the day
and embellishing mine with playtime dread.
My bus drove on to its familiar route
and I settled back down
and I thought this breaking day was her final loss…
The sun overflowing and happy,
turning everything real and unreal
and perilous without reason.