Wake
In the room, gray hairs dominate by a factor of 10.
There is cheese dip with carrots, no crackers.
Flash flood laughter bursts across the conversation hum.
There are somber bottles of lite beer.
Carpet and hardwoods are studied blindly during shared silences.
There are photos in matching frames peppering a gray wall.
He would have liked this room better than
the one filled with flowers
we say.
We see him in each other’s eyes.
We see ourselves in the eyes looking back from framed photos.
We wonder where we keep the photographic evidence of our lives.
I wonder who I should tell about the box of photos
in the back of the closet
that will tell friends who I was.
Greg Brisendine (a.k.a. Greg Bee) is a poet, amateur actor, advice columnist, budding playwright, and chili chef from Seattle, Washington. His work has been online, in print and on microphones across North America. Greg continues to discover himself in his writing as well as other people’s writing.
Copyright © 2013 by Greg Brisendine