the crisp blue December sky gleams above
and
the twin pine trees stand
before us
alive, robust:
nature’s heresy unfolds to me
weak early winter sun
with its false warmth blesses
my shivering body
as I behold
the funeral rite
bluejays bawl
the dirge inside my skull
as the minister
glorifies your passing from
this world
do they not see
you become the earth?
with the evergreen breeze
gently whispering your name
calling you back
taking, always taking
do they not see
wishing does not work?
in losing we cannot win
you are
in that cold, cold ground
for eternity
and still, the crisp blue December sky
garishly mocks from above
and
the twin pine trees
sway,
alive, robust:
breathing
ceaselessly
Katherine Caswell is a creative writing teacher in Louisville, KY. Her poetry and narrative writing have appeared in Kentucky Monthly’s Penned Literary Edition, the anthology Calliope, and the Louisville Eccentric Observer’s Literary LEO as well as an upcoming edition of Pegasus.