When you breathed your last
I willed us to be in the old apple orchard
where wind would sweep in with a
new surge of life
But here were only a bright tangle
of memories
sinking, foundering -
and it was no orchard, but
a reliquary
Was the fluttering
I heard your last flight?
a commotion in eternity's womb?
You see how this patch
of ordinary earth
transforms into a crucible
Beyond the bed curtain
I hit a sheer wall of rage
that you, my beloved, suffered for even
a nanosecond, heaving,
sucking at air
to extract simple O2
Then you found it, the hole
in the surly net that held you
down, to deftly jump out and flee
Go. I've prayed hard for this.
Find Mama and God, any
saving apparition
My thirst for your relief
rawly sated
in the hour of your leaving,
I held my wet cheek to yours,
and kissed you,
your long, rich story
gurgling in my heart,
the rust no longer bitter,
your light still warm on my face
--Jo VonBargen 2015
"Beautifully written!" A time capsule for future generations. FROM THIS FAR TIME (The Human Saga) Fierce, taut poetry! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KJLCLC
