Somewhere in the balcony
the choir in their long blue robes,
notes underlining the sadness;
the incessant handshakes and hugs,
sinuous long line of people waiting
to say their last words to my father
who was not in that
overstuffed satin bed;
but already back
in the country club dining room
under the dark wooden rafters
and arched thresholds he loved,
overseeing all the trays and platters
of hot and cold food and more food, more
than anyone could eat: Larger than Life,
the way Father John described, so pleased
with such abundance, yet
shaking his head at my stepmother’s choice
of buffet style: my father always preferred
to sit down and be served.
Andrea Potos is the author of eight collections of poems, most recently A Stone to Carry Home (Salmon Poetry), Arrows of Light (Iris Press), and An Ink Like Early Twilight (Salmon Poetry). She received the 2016 William Stafford Prize in Poetry. Her poems can be found widely in print and online.
