I wrote this poem in winter 2010 after visiting Jo Carson while she was enduring cancer. Jo was a great mentor to me in my writing and storytelling. She passed away in September 2011.
*Twin Trees Falling in Tandem & Not Hitting Al’s Roof
You in your kerchief
& me in my hat
The wan afternoon before us
Like a cat stretches out for its
Long winter’s nap
We talked about old loves
Family rivalries
Rivers that flooded
And miracle babies
You hiked up your skirt
As though it were summer
And you were looking to catch
A cool breeze
And handed me a back issue of
Southern Living
We both laughed at the thought
Persephone had her six tiny seeds
And parsed them out slowly
But we ate big, plump, juicy
Pomegranate seeds
By the spoonful
Like we were greedy children
Staving off winter and cancer
And loneliness
We held hands and jumped
Into Hades
…together
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