Hour 9
Grateful
Lovely end of July, Colorado summer day,
overflowing flowering baskets hang overhead.
Little blond girl in pink snow boots
dances out the door.
Tables of people break out in
spontaneous, uproarious laughter.
Large, happy families eat, drink, enjoy patio time together.
As I smile, my so-grateful mind leaves my body behind.
Vague uneasiness as I approach the age at which my mother died.
Bones and muscles wonder
what might come next to take us all out.
I catch my shallow breath,
shoulders near my ears.
Sue Storts
09/02/2023