to prepare for the end
a free verse poem for Crucible: the stone womb of elderhood
it took seventeen days
to put dads pants on
change his t-shirt
rub arthritis cream
on his bare back
slip his swollen feet
into sheepskin boots
shuffle him down the hall
get his arms into his coat
without twisting them wrong
hold him steady on the stairs
load him into the car
drive circles around Laramie
so he can look around
at what he remembers
and what he has forgotten
of this town in fifty years
to have his only words
“thank you, thank you”
become the depth
of our conversation
it took seventeen days
to carry the rocks i brought
to the house on grand ave
to the house on reynolds street
to the house on aspen lane
set them down one by one
along the wrought iron fence
under the red mailbox
beside the dark window well
in a new moon ritual
to honor the land
where I was born
to…
