Years later, my grandfather 
reached into his pocket for a handkerchief 
and extracted my grandmother like a molar from the grave 

There’s no exception to the strangeness 
in some families, mine no exclusion 

Now my grandfather’s bed is a barge 
that moves from dream to dream 

He’s unlikely to rise for prayers 
His oldest daughter continues to carry a milk jar 
filled with cream for him to sip 

and the crow that was a harbinger of night 

lies buried in a shoe Grandfather 
will never again wear 

Dianna Henning

lives with her husband and their Samoyed on six acres in a forest of oaks and ponderosa pines in Lassen County, California, where they enjoy the solitude and beauty. Soon after moving to Lassen County, Dianna founded The Thompson Peak Writers’ Workshop, which has been going for twenty-six years. As she says, “The work by others inspires me to be my very best writer.”

For more information, see Brief Bio at the author’s website:
https://diannahenning.com/