Three Poems by Arvilla Fee

 

The Ritual of Loss

 

the unearthly silence

that follows the call—

the call that splits time

into then and now,

going-through-the-motions,

the planning,

catalogues of caskets,

browsing for designs, prices

as though looking

for a new fall wardrobe,

the service, mourners’

tears and well-wishes;

I’m sorry for your loss

blankets the landscape

of each raw nerve

of eyes swollen red

of a throat too tight to speak,

and then it’s over—

flowers donated,

thank you cards in the mail,

bank accounts and bills tended,

closets cleaned, memories sorted

into piles of junk

and forget-me-nots

 

One More Breath

 

Before my arthritic bones ache

from the frosty morning chill,

before I slip my body into fleece

and flannels,

before the leaves skitter off like kittens

across the browning hills,

give me one more breath of summer,

one more bath in bubbles of sunshine,

one more chance to dance under fairy lights

and pretend the begonias are still in bloom.

 

When Frogs are Put to Bed

 

Moisture spills from unbuttoned clouds

kissing the grass with diamond lips;

there’s silence in the wood-scented air—

the absence of geese flown south,

the absence of frogs nestled in mud,

the absence of cricket violins now tucked

away in miniature cases;

the hum of summer over,

leaves fall to the ground

like golden-red confetti

and the north wind sweeps

them away with a swoosh

of her new winter broom.

Arvilla Fee lives in Dayton, Ohio, teaches English for Clark State College, and is the managing editor for the San Antonio Review. She has published poetry, photography, and short stories in numerous presses, including Calliope, North of Oxford, Rat’s Ass Review, Mudlark, and many others. Her poetry books, The Human Side and This is Life, are available on Amazon. Arvilla loves writing, photography and traveling, and she never leaves home without a snack and water (just in case of an apocalypse). For Arvilla, writing produces the greatest joy when it connects us to each other. To learn more about her work, you can visit her website: https://soulpoetry7.com/