Day of the Dead 1996

by Nina Serrano

For Verna / First anniversary

On that last day I finally accepted you were dying
       You stood to embrace me
using your carefully allotted store
of strength
Everything was close up
The masks fallen away
Only love was left and knowledge of coming loss
I went in and out of the loving circle
Your family stayed till the end
On the phone I learned it had come.

Now, I'm still surprised that a year went by
and I haven’t seen you
So many times season by reason
especially in the garden
I’ve want to talk with you
when feelings pushed against my skin
I’d think: Verna will know how to resolve this
But you are gone
I review our more than thirty year conversation
It was never long enough
I wish I’d learned more
You were more practical than I
Now, I talk with you inside my head
I hear your voice it’s feet on the ground
talk to my head in the clouds
But now you are in the clouds
and I am on the ground

Introduction | On Verna's Passing | Feather | Her Hair, Always Her Hair