“How
does it feel to be old?”
“It’s
horrible.”
My
grandpa recently went to Alabama
where
he buried his older brother.
Most
of his friends have been dead
a
while, but a few still call his house.
Then
grandpa spends a couple
of
weeks talking about how bad off
they
are, rehashing the same stories
every
time I visit, sometimes twice.
My
daddy would say, “You already told
me
that.” But I am not my father,
so
I force a smile, hoping, for once,
that
the glaucoma will hide my
salty
cheeks and the terrible face I make
when
I cry. He remembers how his
generation
is dying like cats to the coyotes.
“But
I’m lucky. It happens to everyone. Who
As a student of English and Modern
Languages, Merrell Miles enjoys writing, reading, and communication. As a child
of the Delta, her poetry radiates her blue-collar roots. When she isn’t running
with Ro, her Australian Shepherd, Merrell frequently explores Compamento Viejo,
Olancho, Honduras.
