The way some of us handle loss...

This works comes from the the curiosity I had with a neighbor friend of my parents whose wife had died several months early and he just chose to tell no one. It was in a passing conversation while walking his dog that he matter-of-factly mentioned to my mother that his wife had passed on. I didn't think much of it since I knew his wife was sick, but my mother was besides herself that he had made no announcement to the community. This writing touches on this incident;



The old man across the street
(A contemporary sonnet)

In these senior communities
there is a code to the way
of the old
(so my maman tells me).
Some adhere to it,
while others choose not.
The old man across the street
lost his precious wife
on November 25th, 2009.
He chose not to tell a soul. He did not report
his anguish to any of us.
For him perhaps, it was like
walking his dog each day– you do it,
you clean up after– and mind your own.