today I talk to the dead

It’s been 84 years, but yeah, I do still write poetry sometimes. It’s the beginning of NaNoWriMo once again, we’ll see what happens this year. I’m trying not to put any pressure on myself and enjoy it!

today I talk to the dead.
I pry my eyes open inward and remember
the soil they went back to.

I breathe in the prickly blue sky,
weep with willows, play hide and seek
with a meandering sun. I know
the end will come,
but not today.

I clench my fists. I refuse
to cry. they loved me
and I love them,
for all they’ve given me,
for all they’ve taken from me.

today I tell the dead about the ones who remain
and how we don’t pray
exactly, but sometimes I’ll leave my window
open for a bit too long,
till the clouds invite themselves in.
I yell at them because their beauty
offends me.
the air in my lungs stings like your hand on mine
decades ago.

today I talk to the dead
and as long as I do,
they live.