New Poetry by Doug Holder

Signs

(for my late wife Dianne Robitaille)

A fallen autumnal leaf

perfectly lands

in the template of my hand-

I almost crushed it

with my wet sorrow..

A sudden red bloom

on a dying geranium 

a crown

for us brittle leaves 

below.

When I close

my eyes

cameos of her smile

flicker

on my 

very black screen,

like an old silent

movie.

The sudden

wide-eyed-shock

of the cat 

tail erect--

pointing to the ceiling

to some shadow

some trace of a spectral 

being.

The bird

that I could only see

when I laid my head on

her pale, deflated stomach

flickering with

frantic flight...

I felt the warm wind of the lake

gently sweep her away

I saw her

once more

in the mournful

davening

of the trees.

- © Doug Holder 2021

Doug Holder is the founder of the Ibbetson Street Press. He teaches creative at Endicott College right outside of Boston. His latest poetry collection is "The Essential Doug Holder." He lost his wife , the poet Dianne Robitaille in August of 2021.