Too Many Goodbyes

Three Very Different Farewells to My Father, My Mother and My Beloved

We climbed to the top of a mountain

I watched your ashes scatter in the wind

With the azure blue of Lake Tahoe

Glittering as the backdrop

To your final act

You were finally free and so were we.

After they pushed your cardboard box

Into the dark cavern of the cremation retort

It seemed like the most personal thing

The most loving thing I could do

But when I pushed that red button

And the furnace filled with fire

I screamed until tears streamed down my neck.

Like an ancient, sacred priestess

I caressed every curve and crevice

Anointing your precious frame

With aromatic essential oils

Swaddling you in a white shroud

I trembled as you were lowered

Deep into the earth beneath the tree

With the timeless rhythm of the ocean

As your final playlist forever

It hardly seems kind to make me say goodbye

Every year, Lord. Can you see your way clear

To give me a respite from this recurring quietus?

*Images are AI Generated in case you couldn’t tell.