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May 15, 2019

Someone He Loved

By Matthew Thorburn

*
Where did the chords go
Uncle Albert used to
play those chiming bells
bowls of bright water
he raised high with both

*

hands before his stroke
his black coat always on
the silver stick pin shining
his eyes to the ceiling
is that where he keeps
*
his music we wondered
or else closed tight
in ecstasy (a word
we didn’t know yet)
a perfect moment lasting
*
three and a half minutes
long enough I guess
before his hands fell
to his lap he asked for
a cup of tea he wondered
*
would news ever come
there was someone
he loved he wouldn’t call
her by name though
we felt sure she had one.
*
*
Matthew Thorburn’s most recent book is Dear Almost (LSU Press, 2016), winner of the Lascaux Prize. His new book, The Grace of Distance, will be published by LSU Press in Fall 2019. He lives with his wife and son in New Jersey. Visit his website or follow him on Instagram to learn more about his work.

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