my father just came back
from a memorial service for an aunt of mine;
his sister-in-law.
how lucky we are to experience death
in leisure. here, in my life,
I see it come, often slowly.
it rarely rushes. surely
not wanted, but
sometimes expected. or at the very least
looked out for. we keep the guards posted:
hospice, home nurses.
'oh, it was a long time coming,' someone says, or 'it happened suddenly, but at their age...' a rhetorical trail off. thank god we have no fear of the drone, or the bomb, or the military bullet.
only civilian violence, I'd wager. and after all
this is america. how lucky.