Denis Wagner
Their Resting Place
Did that mortician really fly out to sea
and scatter my parent’s ashes?
The thought strikes me
as a whale breaches starboard,
splashes water up over the ship.My dad’s presence hangs in the air around me,
remembering his callused hands
as I look at my own, shielding me.The harsh sea
is no place for souls
who have fought all their lives
for the simplest existence.
Nearly eighty years of struggle
and stingy joyfulness,
watching the country change
with hordes of immigrants.In such grimness I regret
that I didn’t take them both home with me,
lay their remains in the backyard,
seed the soil, and water it. At least
watch red geraniums rise in triumph.Now regrettable,
all I can do is throw my heart to the wind,
let the whale douse me,
say a prayer of thanks,
and hope they have forgiven me.
Bio:
Denis Wagner grew up in Southern California among the orange groves, is a recovering Catholic, went to parochial schools, played sports, developed a taste for making handcrafts, earned a football scholarship to Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, graduating in Architectural Engineering in 1964. He's worked in the building trades establishing his own business more that 35 years ago. "Their Resting Place" is forthcoming in The Anthology of Monterey Bay Poets.
