standing outside,

I turn and feel a strong gust of wind blow suddenly

on my face. And something new

rises within me, washes over me like a wave,

cleanses me, again

& again &

again.

The sun began its parting

Into the sea, from day, would leave

Clouds of gray and red

Drifted the canvas, carelessly

Then, through the dusky mist

Sun’s light through clouds did part

To paint a hand, palm up

Holding a blushing heart

My brother takes me to a junkyard

I am laughter and pink cheeks and trudging through waist-high snow until

we pass a car plastered in biohazard warnings

This is not the first deathbed I have seen today

I roll down the windows on the way home

He does not complain

We are both numb

The music is soft and I'm not crying yet

I pick out a big plastic container, the kind meant for cupcakes

All nineteen years of her little body coil like a black rope

I cover her eyes with her tail

The clear casket goes heavy into the fridge

It was meant for cupcakes

your chin was tipped high,

your face toward the sky,

your laughter a

beautiful sound.

the angle just right,

and sun's light so bright,

and that's when I knew

that I loved you.

Standing on a downtown street corner many years ago, I waited for a park-and-ride bus. A harried disheveled mom pushing a collapsible stroller that carried a baby while wrangling a toddler, stopped before getting on her city bus to give a homeless man a few dollars. She said simply, "Get yourself something to eat."