Three Poems by Holly Day: Lilies and Violets, Living Inside, Llama

Lilies and Violets

the flowers come in the mail
with the cards, the letters expressing sympathy
for our loss, I smile
thank my husband for his kindness
call relatives to explain
I really don’t need anything
I’m doing just fine. I arrange
the cut flowers in vases
repot living plants, display the serene cards
on the coffee table and by the bed.
My husband compliments me on my strength
I reply with a smile. I am carved out of stone.
at night, I find myself talking tot he missing baby
hold my hands
over my empty belly, protecting nothing.
it hurts to sleep on my stomach
only because nothing stops my from lying that way.
I shuffle through these days
find comfort in routine
turn inside myself, hold back everything
but the same, placid smile the mailman sees
every single day.

Living Inside
I can find a match in my body for
The mushroom blooming in the basement
For the mouse chewing its way into my kitchen
I can find cancers to match the spots in the living room window
The bits of unidentifiable snarl in the motor of the dishwasher
It’s all a part of me and because
This house is sick I know
I am going to die

Llama
sometimes I think the real ticket
to making it
is to just live longer
than everyone around me
become
the high lama guru of some group of
starry-eyed kids, transfix them
with stories
about all the real stars I knew
I knew and outlived.

Copyright 2009, Holly Day. © This work is protected under the U.S. copyright laws. It may not be reproduced, reprinted, reused, or altered without the expressed written permission of the author.

Holly Day lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) with her husband and two children. Her most recently published books are Music Theory for Dummies, Music Composition for Dummies, and Walking Twin Cities.