Six weeks after diagnosis
I stayed away out of respect for your daughters.
You followed the hearse with your father and the girls.
He couldn’t stay within the boundaries of himself.
Her friend Angie broke down reading, the celebrant had to help.
It was curious how I got to know your mother in the last few weeks.
We talked of how she wanted the final dressing in her wedding gown.
You told me how towards the end her teeth were taken out.
Neighbours gathered at the village hall for sandwiches and quiche.
Alexandra Corrin’s debut collection Sing me down from the dark was published by SALT in 2022. She has been published in P.N. Review, The Moth and Poetry Wales. She will guest edited issue 11 of The Alchemy Spoon. Website: alexandracorrintachibana.com