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