For the day’s rituals, she clothed herself carefully in an
air of grace. Ate the cookies with some delicacy during
the post-cremation service at the cemetery. Forgot the
eulogy her brother said. Met a cousin not seen since
thirteen reminisce in great detail about her parents’
deaths, the still-pain craving centre stage. Head nodding
along in the warm autumn sun. Cold bones now gone
dust. Stale crumbs brushed from corners as a mouth
that smiled too widely snapped back shut. Grief listening,
simmering like an unwatched pot. Blank stares. Burned
wreath. Forgotten favourites. And the ever-rumbling
silence beneath.

one tree has reached bloom
another not yet seasoned
both breathe in sunlight