scatteredwisdom

Ashes

By Laura McCollough Moss

It started today,

out on Lake Gaston

the somber broadcast

A few there,

a few more on land because

Papa likes to think of her beneath a tree

tomorrow all the rest

will go as she wanted

into the Atlantic

off the Carolina coast

and I wonder

where are the lavender toenails?

I hope her arms are in Gaston

she can caress us

while we swim

Her strong proud face

beneath the tree

basking in the sun year-round

Her heart

belongs in the ocean

adrift along the surface,

glinting in the moonlight

drifting toward a lighthouse

With the emptying of that box she is gone

we can't put our hands on her

anymore

But she is bigger now,

part of nature

that is the way it should be

Goodbye, Love

Goodbye

Enjoy your travels

your time has come.