Upcoming Publication

 

POEMS ABOUT RELATIVE DEATH

Three of my poems have been accepted for publication in an anthology, “The Human Touch,” produced by the University of Colorado. It is due to be released in late April. This anthology focuses on health concerns and how we deal with them.

No matter how many people have died before us and die during our lifetime, our personal experience is unique. The sheer magnitude of unique-ness is daunting. And yet there is much that is common. This is like saying everything is opposite and everything is the same. Are we to understand that it's not a matter of "To be or not to be," but rather, "To be and not to be"?

Whenever a member of my family was believed to be dying, somebody always sat with that person. My father died in our house while my mother was at the laundromat, and she was dismayed that he had died alone. For years I had dreams of being with him when he had his fatal heart attack. I tried to call for help, but my fingers couldn't get the phone to work. I believe those dreams were messages, something of an accusation because I hadn't been with him more when I should have known he was nearing death.

The anthology is published by the Anschutz Medical Campus community at the University of Colorado.