7/21/23 9:25pm

I should like to promise the world will see my agony– feel it beneath their skin–

Eyes swelling up and hands shaking just so slightly–

Strumming this decade old guitar– retirement collected behind this curtain–

This this this– This is where I am shoving my emotions in front of you–

See her? See that there?

I should promise her innocence– I should I should–

I should paint this grief–

Blues and greens and the fur in that bag– Sorry dear we usually have different

containers– this will do, yes? Your son? In this bag?

Feeling is within my chest– feeling the textures and graphs of his life–

The screams and pants and scratches– it is Green

Darks and lights on canvas

It is not pretty

But it is him and it is life and death and the in between

and here is where that woman is stepping on stage left

the curtain was not positioned correctly

and I cannot promise that my agony will recall his cue

So if you paid for front row tickets I am sorry to disappoint

But this is a promise I cannot keep.

– ODH