Greif will let go, slowly— unclench one fist, then the other, the way you knead the bread while you look out the kitchen window remembering the way he held you— the way he was supposed to be here as part of your landscape, now— and he is. He is the larkspur in your vase, the heat from the oven, the warm breeze carrying the scent of rain.
Maybe grief will leave out the back door one unexpected day in July when the sky is full of sun trying to find you through the canopy of leaves. You will be able to smile without hope— smile because his absence is a truth that doesn’t hurt anymore— and you will start to forget how much you wanted this house in this forest to contain him and this loaf of warm bread to surprise him.
DeMaris 4-24-2021
“Selma in the Garden” by T.C. Steele, circa 1915-1920
I currently live in Greenwood, Indiana. I love to listen to music, books on CD, podcasts or NPR as I work in my studio. My favorite artists are Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper. I love poetry, but only the good stuff that isn’t so abstract I can’t understand it. Abstraction better lends itself to visual art, I think. Stephen Dunn is my favorite poet. He’s said just about anything that can be said about the inner workings of the heart and mind. My favorite novel is Atonement by Ian McEwan. My all time favorite band is The Cure. I love science, and anything that relates to how the mind works. I don’t believe in the supernatural. If I could meet anyone in the world, it would be Richard Dawkins or Steven Pinker. If you don’t buy my art or read my poetry, buy one of their books. It will enrich if not change your life. My favorite things to do are hiking, kayaking and camping. My favorite food is so common, I’ll keep you in suspense (It starts with a P). I prefer chocolate to vanilla. Green is my favorite color. I have an aversion to planning or scheduling of any kind, and I live for spontaneous adventures! Telephone conversations make me anxious, and I avoid them at almost all cost. I had a happy childhood. I’m having a pretty fantastic adulthood. I have every intention of seeing my 100th birthday, after which I will happily relinquish my guts to the future of medicine.
Cheers! ~DeMaris
View more posts
demarisspeaks 