Shopping Cart
    items

      ←

      December 7, 2018After Mother Dies, Most Men Need a LoverRobert Carr

      Father’s lover sits
      on the paisley sofa
      where my mother
       
      rested before she went
      to bed and died.
      It’s been fourteen years
       
      since the water ran,
      since my mother refused
      to get out of the shower
       
      because hot water
      felt so good.
      In the intervening years
       
      my father’s lover has lost
      her mind. She says
      the most beautiful things.
       
      Today she said,
      I know I love you,
      but I’ve forgotten your name.

      from #61 - Fall 2018

      Robert Carr

      “In January of 2019, my father will turn 90. At the Thanksgiving dinner table this year he talked about his lover, Rosemary, who was my mother’s best friend before she died in 2003. Rosemary has developed slowly progressing dementia over the past several years and, with sadness and great affection, he shared the story of this poem including Rosemary’s statement. This story reminded me of the power in human connection—the courage that’s sitting at our own table.”

      →