first griefs of winter—
 
a death without a goodbye
 
and the bitter wind

 
 
 

Good Friday, bad news:
 
The pandemic still rages
 
and the death toll mounts.

 
 
 

an old, old story—
 
death’s angel passing over
 
every bloodstained door

 
 
 

My inbox fills up
 
with spring’s first devastation:
 
news of my friend’s death.

 
 
 

sixteen years ago
 
my mom’s unexpected death—
 
Cinco de Mayo
.

After

 
 
 

just after sunrise
 
a death in the nursing home
 
a birth in the woods

Death

 
 
 

first death of the year—
 
the feral cat’s lukewarm breath
 
leaks from her nostrils

Death

 
 
 

a friend’s sudden death—
 
even my morning coffee
 
gives me no pleasure

Clichés

 
 
 

at the private’s death
 
an outpouring of clichés
 
from the general

Dance

 
 
 

empty plastic bag
 
that once contained his ashes—
 
Dad’s last dance with death