Vigil with Aunt Maggie Bowman

Darman phoned me
from a garage
a lump of dread choking
his voice

"You better go," he said
"There isn't much time
and you know her
old ways better than I"

which is true
though Aunt Maggie
probably doesn't know
I am here

Her body feels cool
as the sheets
but she must be burning
inside her memory

"The old well"
she keeps saying
"Draw a fresh bucket
and give me a drink"
She stirs on the pillow
"and tie up the morning glories"

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.