When His Brother Died by Jane Glasser

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Narrated by Jane Glasser

 

When His Brother Died by Jane Glasser
Illustration by Sue Babcock
When his brother died
a silent scream—
like wind-ripped leaves—
swirled to an island
across the sea.

When his brother died
his skin fell off—
a wreath at his feet—
and his bones danced
a jiggy dirge
beside an open grave.

When his brother died
his tears streamed
a cataract of grief
till the casket swam
into a black hole.

When his brother died,
his arteries filled
with shovelfuls of mud
and the valves
of his heart froze.

After his brother died
he nailed shut
windows and doors
and his soul unpacked
in childhood rooms
all his memory’s rags.

BIO: Jane Ellen Glasser won the Tampa Review Prize for Poetry for Light Persists, and
the Poetica Publishing Chapbook Contest for The Long Life. FutureCycle Press will
be releasing her seventh poetry collection, In the Shadow of Paradise, in the summer
of 2017. Sample her work and books at www.janeellenglasser.com.