A Family Circle Thing Poem by RIC BASTASA

it was something moderate
and yet your coldness
was penetrating

the effect was shivering
enthusiasm dampened
this dread
and numbing
fear that sends
a pallor
on spirit's skins

this bad news
you received it
on paper
and read it alone

one that suffices
to kill the meaning
of celebratiion

one that defaces
joy and
thanksgiving

it is the arrival
of death
in one's family
where someone
lays so silent
in the living room

and life was but
something
that was nice

a chill of the day
that one sips
from an ice cold
green tea

i guess i should
not have given
you any hint about it

but you have the right
to know
you are part
of this circle
that wishes
to forget
and simply
chill down a little
bit meeting
sunrise on
the porch
where we must
keep composed