Charlene James Duguid
With last poem now written
Leaves for next journey

(Today would have been Char’s 82nd birthday; sending her love out there in the universe — xoxox)

Others pull out the stops, hundreds in party fest, more
than just 84.

Windows on the world open to him.
He hopes for another day of paleo points to arrive.
FedEx at the door; the smile so true from just our happy Jim,
The Birthday Boy!
Celebrate.

Happy Birthday Jim!!

As the last person in the world,
I guess at what I’ll do next.

It’s no problem;
Only one thing to do:
I wait,
And wait,
And wait.
That’s all there is to do.
Why not?

It’s a noble thing;
It’s all there is.

No bribery,
No slander,
No problems.

Just the same thing:

Waiting,
Waiting,
Waiting.

Question: what is waiting?
Passage of time.
It’s always been this way.
But I never knew.

Now I do.
And now I do.

Midnight Warriors searching for a quest
But not too hard
After fifty years it’s all too much
Platitude after platitude
Man, woman, fledgling, child
Tracking all out of joint
Yearning to track the heroes’ bones

Crying at the edge of the water
God redirected oceans, tears, rain
Banding the earth with wedding garlands forever
Rain commanded to drench the sorrowful land at last
Tears know what to do; for eons healed those sad souls
Remember that.