How It Is
I rolled the trash bin to the curb, proud of
myself for managing the quotidian tasks.
Then I remembered trash day’s Wednesday,
so I rolled it hangdog back to the house.
Oh well, better luck tomorrow I guess.
I rolled my mother’s trash bin to the curb
yesterday at the conclusion of my visit.
Her trash day’s today. I get some things right.
As we sat at her kitchen table she cried
talking about my dad, and the loneliness.
She said, “John, I guess that’s just how it is.”
I’d made a Sam’s Club run for her—her
firstborn magi bearing gifts of toilet paper,
trash bags, Cascade pods, and Nexium.
Supplies to last a widow woman for weeks.
I helped her put them away, a place for
everything, then took the trash to her curb.
On the walk back to her house I thought even
the house looks lonely. I guess that’s just how it is.
i hear you
i can relate
such simple gestures
ordinary words
but there is such a tender tragic beauty in them
Yep…and it sucks!
Blaise your lucky I get a guilt trip on occasion from my mother, but I take like a man regardless but I also relate totally with every word u have written here be well
You guys are close by now and that takes some of the loneliness away.
Oh how I ache for all of you and Anna my heart is broken in a way only widows can be when they have loved the very best and now must share the widow’s journey and the harder – the greater the love the harder it is. 14 years and the one bright spot for me is that I am one day closer to our Heavenly Father and my husband, friend, and soul mate. The smallest things family can do that Anna wishes or agrees to will be such a blessing so try as I know you will after all how many years did they do for each of you out of pure LOVE – many times that was a struggle you had no idea about until now that you have a family. God Bless each of you ! Please keep writing
Starkly silhouetted words against an ever-lightning sky! Love??
Your words brought back memories of my mom after my dad died. So many years together, and suddenly separated by death. How it is. And thanks.