Her shadow on the barn
cast by winter-weary sun
is taller than
a five-year-old.
She smiles, runs to
the lakeshore—a mud flat
extended by months
without rain.
Her sisters smile, too.
Their mother lies cold
in a coffin just
covered with earth.
Inside, food is
brought in. The adults
form a line, stand
mostly silent, listening
to laughter from
the children by the lake.
Tony Reevy’s previous publications include poetry, non-fiction and short fiction, including the non-fiction books Ghost Train!, O. Winston Link: Life Along the Line, The Railroad Photography of Jack Delano and The Railroad Photography of Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, and the full books of poetry, Old North, Passage and Socorro. He resides in Durham, North Carolina with wife, Caroline Weaver, and children Lindley and Ian.
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