“and I send her sunflowers on a sunny day./and I think of her children./and I sing with the Wailers.”
Hair Clip
I found my hair clip under the red armchair.
It felt cold in my hand living in that dark
underworld, like an old woman
who rocks to the tick of a clock,
waiting for that visit, for that warm touch,
for that chance to weave an angel’s hair
between her weathered fingers,
to hear that sweet chipmunk
sound, thank you, Grandma,
ending that abyss of loneliness.
Dread Talk
I saw the movie Bob Marley last night.
and I had thought he had died of a gunshot wound.
and I know now he did not.
and I watched a tiny toe take the Skipper down like a heel took Achilles.
and I saw the disbelief on his face when the doctor said he had a rare form of melanoma.
and I saw the prophecy in his eye when he was advised to remove the toe to stop the spread.
and I saw his people’s faces when he refused treatment.
and I saw my friend in Bob Marley.
and I was told at my nephew’s baptism that she was dying.
and I saw her husband sitting alone in a fog of dense frankincense.
and I saw the pain on his face as he explained her prognosis.
and I saw the anger in his eyes and the imbalance of defeatism in his knees.
and I saw his mouth tremble when he said her cancer had begun as a treatable lump on her arm.
and “I took her everywhere: Mexico, California, she insisted on fighting it naturally.”
and I listened to him.
and I had nothing to say.
and I know now that she too refused traditional treatment.
and I send her sunflowers on a sunny day.
and I think of her children.
and I sing with the Wailers.
Nancy Byrne Ianucci is the author of four chapbooks, Temptation of Wood, which was released with Nixes Mate Books in 2018; Goblin Fruit, which was released with impspired in 2021; Primitive Prayer, which was released with Plan B Press in 2022; and Hummingbirds and Cigarettes, which was released with Bottlecap Press this year.
