Elegy for Hayden - Margaret R. Akchin

I: SERENADE
a bird and I happened
to be in the same place
singing in harmony
with opposite intents:
he was serenading his
and I was mourning mine.
II: BLACK
wearing black is illogical
black is the rich deep color
of silt and fertile soil in which new life grows.
III: TUMOR
cancer is a thing
that grows inside a thing; that is
as specific as I can get
a tumor is a thing
that grows inside a mind. That is as near
as my phobic brain will let me get
to this atrocity
IV: BIRTHDAY
just after your birthday you left us
were you dying even then? did you know
even then? did you blow out your
nine candles
in a hospital bed? did the icing smear
your sterilized gown?
was your birthday present
utterly futile? Is everything in this world?
V: PACKAGE
I meant to send your family
a care package afterward
or at least a nice card
but the words never came: how does a mourner
comfort a mourner?
VI: WISH
your wish is my command
I will send you a thousand blank cards
and a sister’s love.