Fall 1998 – copyright 1998, page 301
To My Grandfather:
I hold you in my hand
Your silent ashes dust my palm
Fist clenched, I couldn’t release you
Colorful petals to guide you
Beneath me, Lake Cushman
above me, a cloudy blue sky
around me, an icy wind without you
A memory of your still body
I stared at you for countless hours
But now, your body doesn’t exist
my angry hand loosens around you
remembering the last words we shared
Today, I face life without you
Wondering what our words could’ve been
making myself promise because of you
striving for goals to prove myself
I can’t guarantee mistakes won’t be made
but I can live with your name
I may now put you to rest
and the wind carries you to the surface of the water
-Darcy Thomas Martin