I Took Aunt Wilma to Lorena’s Grave
I took Aunt Wilma to Lorena’s grave,
But first we’d gone to Walmart where she chose
A dark gardenia. I became her slave.
I paid the money, helped her to dispose
Her fragile body in the Chevrolet,
And drove her to La Grange. There’s nothing grand
There: tiny chapel, lots of tombstones (gray
Remembrances), hot sandspurs, and flat sand
That I was forced to dig. The light poured down
Pitlilessly and then I poured the jars
Of water we had brought. Later the frown
Of knowledge taught me that the land of Mars
Was just as healthy for such plants. They die
A dry, stared death in the ruthless sun’s eye.