Looking Ahead He Looks Back
Those things we leave behind.
The rooster’s full moon crow
or the blue enameled cast iron pot
bearing the scars of a thousand
meals. Hair on a brush. Harsh
night words and the photos of
a wooden lighthouse from a
discarded life. We choose some,
misplace others. How does a home
curdle within one night’s orbit?
The answer is not your truth. Or mine.
I measure my life in hours lost.
* * *
“Looking Ahead He Looks Back” was first published in Juke Joint, in March 2020.
O at the Edges 
Hair left in a brush – you’ve got me looking back, reminded of my miss – to save a lock of my son’s hair. He’d kept it incredibly short for years, but let it grow to cover his surgical scar (top of head) – several times sitting with him before the very end I’d have the urge to snip off a curl. Might’ve distressed him, so didn’t mention it. And at the very end, my focus was swooped up by invading distractions. (I did take photos …)
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I’ve discarded things that I wish I’d kept, but at least the memories remain.
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read the bio on juke…bagging groceries can be highly stressful these days, probably gives lots of writing inspiration. ;))
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Well, I quit in March 2020 after I caught COVID. It wasn’t stressful until the panic shopping began. And then…
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