by Lori D’Angelo
April nearly did me in.
But then I remembered Eliot.
Most of us survive the wars.
Except those who don’t.
In other times, we would
hold services to honor them.
But these days, we stream
Services online, gather alone.
Try to remember our old
Daily rituals, make dinner
And art while trying to teach
Our children ABC order and
How to locate rocks as
natural resources in the yard.
There are other lessons like
One can only go so many
Mornings without a shower,
So many weeks without a
Haircut. And, as it turns out,
Good coffee is necessary
Even if you have to order
It from New Hampshire.
Wait for the mailman like
Pheidippides who delivers
A message worth dying for.
After this, I want a manicure
And a carnival and hot air
Balloons. Will you make me
A cake that reads we survived
And my love was worth living for?
Lori D’Angelo‘s work has appeared in various literary journals such as Drunken Boat, Gargoyle, and Stirring. She lives in Virginia with her family. Ellen Benson is a member of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, a group that’s been making art out of cast-off pieces of the urban landscape for 25 years. She makes figures that may incorporate twigs, plastic bags, old doll clothes and limbs, toys, used paintbrushes, yarn, twine, ethnic textiles and found objects. She has a goal of creating 1000 figures called “DIVAS.” She’s made over 600 so far; 200 have been on display at the Philadelphia International Airport. See her work at InLiquid and Unexpected Philadelphia.
Global Poemic 