Veteran's Day Special: Two Poems for the Price of One!

The first poem, Xenophobe, is an exercise in pretension. It's a little something I dreamed up about a decade ago, and have fiddled with it just recently.

The second offering was written as an outpouring of grief after my mom died. Today is the 50th anniversary of my grandmother's passing. And only since the death of my own mother, have I understood the anguish that would grip Mom every year at this time.

Happy Armistice Day,


Cindy



Xenophobe


I do not mean
to frighten the crow.
And am I not
as black as he?
Cloaked in grounded, woolen night
not unlike his obsidian wing,
I stand very still—
not to breathe
nor to make any sound
that would stir him into flight.


Mother


A sea of Grief
from prolific tears,
I cannot lay you to rest—
It has become
too dark and deep
you’re now too far
beyond my reach.
Memory strains
to keep your face
in its desperate grasp
until that sea
covers my head
and I’m drowned with you
at last.