Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Garnering Loss--James Garner, Murphy's Romance, and Ecology




Garnering Loss

Your boyfriend’s dead he says
I laugh
ask which one

but think of James Garner

my own Murphy’s Romance
staying for supper only if breakfast is included.
How do you like your eggs?

A sign maybe.

The amaryllis stops swallowing.

The cilantro dries up.

I hear people went to the wrong Roanake this weekend.

I remember stooping under a sumac
on a trail near Toledo,
turning red under its leaves
while the guide explained

fragrant bobs attract bees

stems transform into pipes
fluoresce under ultraviolet light.

I fear

my toes will grow numb
harden and fall off,
useless and without scent.

I fear

I’ll say, “I’m 60,”
just like Murphy
and the door will slam

leaving me outside
in the coming dark.





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