Monday, May 27, 2013

October 12, 2011 -- Part 1


October 12, 2011  

Midweek  
Mid-afternoon  
Head in the clouds  
Four birthdays past  
Four more to come  
Including mine  
And my anniversary  
Shall I make a Black Forest Cake?  
Of course!  

Then come   
The holidays  
Will my brother come down 
To South Carolina 
For Thanksgiving or Christmas    
This year?    

Phone rings  
Nerves jangle  
“Hello” I snap  
As my name is mangled  
“Yes, I’m Karen”  
My patience is at an end  
Useless “no-call” list  
But this is no  
Sales call  

My brother  
Was found   
Unconscious   
In his neighbor’s yard  
A scrap of paper  
In his hand  
With my name and number   
On it  


He’s in  
Bad shape  
The neighbor tells me  
The ambulance is on its way  
But he may not make it  
It’s probably   
Too late  

I babble  
I can’t think  
I ask the same question  
Over and over  
But it is the question  
That no one can answer  
Why?  Why?  




October 13, 2011 -- Midnight

Suitcase
Open
And empty
What do you wear
To plan a funeral
Or to cheer up
A hospitalized
Person?




October 13, 2011 -- Later  

In the car  
Cradling a mug  
Of coffee   
So strong   
It hurts  

It’s two a.m.  
Miles ahead  
Are black --  
Black as the  
Too strong   
Coffee  
  
We try to talk  
My sister and I  
I ask about  
Her job  
Her husband  
Her life  
  
She responds  
And asks about  
My son    
My husband  
My life  
But one question  
Keeps coming up  
Why?  Why?  



Both of us   
Are wrapped in our   
Worry and fear and guilt  
That we dare not voice  
Because the tears  
Will start  
And    
Not end  

So we stare  
At the uncertain road  
Ahead of us  
And pretend   
To listen   
To the tunes on the   
I-Pod  

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