living among the dead
one church member stood
during prayer time to mark
five years since his wife died
at coffee hour another said
next Sunday will be two years
since her husband died
when I checked email I saw
a request to help with a burial
of who died last night
and then at lunch Ginger
told me that my spiritual
director had died in her sleep
those are just the ones
I heard about today
no doubt there are more
not a day goes by that
isn’t attached to someone
who is no longer with us
as we are wont to say
even as we keep bumping
into their absences
and marking our calendars
so we can recognize
today’s particular ache
Peace,
Milton