August 2015
I teach English and French at a public high school in Los Angeles. I am a native Californian; though I have lived many other places, I am happy to have ended up, more or less, at home (at least for now). I've been writing poetry ever since I could hold a pen; I like the way you can say so much in the short space of a poem.
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Drop Dead! You spat it out like venom at your playground enemy and it felt so good to say Drop dead! Late in in life it becomes a sweet mercy to imagine: one minute you’re treading the earth as ever, the next you’re gone! No hospitals, MRIs, CAT scans, surgery, no loved ones standing around wondering if you’re still breathing and what to do with you in case you are. And though I’ll never be ready for you to go, as long as it is your wish to leave this way, it is mine. And may it happen on a day when you are singing with friends, laughing at a joke, dancing in your living room. May it come to you before you know it and you’ll find yourself flying, a balloon cut loose, taking one last glance at this fond world that you have loved. Though it will feel so cold to us, this world without you, still with all my heart here is my wish for you dear friend, mother, kindred soul; when the time comes, Drop dead! -appeared in Wild Domestic and The Writer's Almanac |
©2015 Tamara Madison