Poetry magazine came yesterday.

I subscribe to Poetry Magazine. It is always a happy surprise when it appears in my mailbox. The publication is ad free and is printed in a book format – about 5 1/2 by 9 inches or so. It ships via USPS in an apropriate size envelope.

Modern poetry speaks without rhyme. This one by David Kirby spoke to me.

Lately, because of other stories and novels that I am reading or have read, I have been thinking of Mom and Dad. They have been gone for some time now but when I read this free verse I heard Mom’s last words to me as I sat in her darkened room waiting to see if she would wake up.

After dinner I went to visit her. She was laying in bed tilted up a bit very obviously asleep. I sat quietly and waited in a nearby chair. She woke from her nap and squinted at me without her glasses. “Pauly, is that you?”

“Yes, Mom. I didn’t want to wake you.” I replied. She closed her eyes some more and there was silence as she rested. And then she said, “Thanks for all your help.” Those were her last words to me.

Carpe Diem