Calling on a Bereaved Neighbor

Esther is a hard woman
to love
and she never liked me

I had to whip myself
to her house
when I heard the news

She met me at the door
her eyes cold dry
and said "I'm glad you came"

and took me to the kitchen
where she was making
a casserole

"Why don't men take care of
themselves"
she complained matter-of-factly

"It was like John wanted to die
and get away from me--
lifting those wheelbarrows of

rocks he didn't need for any reason
just something to keep him
in motion"

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.