Death of a Friend

I met Moses in Florence, Italy. She came half way through the semester and it was months before I knew her name wasn’t Moses, that this was just her last name. It fit. She’s hard to describe. She died suddenly and tragically at 26, on the verge of so much. I thought I would write a book about her, but I couldn’t get my thoughts into focus. This poem came out instead. It was really important to get any pictures I could and I just kept staring at them, as if, she wasn’t gone. That’s the weird things about photos, just a representation. I miss her. Angelina Jolie reminds me of her. I wonder if she would like Gwen Stephani’s solo album. I wonder . . .

I love to watch the new NBC show The Bionic Woman because the star reminds me so much of Moses, except she has green eyes and she’s British. I remember us making fun of her possibly being on a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She shrugged it off, “Hey, I’d be thrilled to land a role on that show.” She was not pretentious. One more thing I miss about her.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial

If you’ve never been to Oklahoma City and you think it’s not worth it, you need to come and visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial. I have been all over Europe and this memorial is the most honoring I’ve ever seen. The creators did not just want to commemorate what happened, they created a space to reflect, a space that completely obliterates terror and rests in peace. The Memorial is open all day and night. It is impressive in both the light and the dark.  I took my 18-month old son to the Memorial one evening. It is the most serene place, but he wasn’t having it. He wanted to sit in the chairs and was as disruptive as could be. His name is Truth.

 What is your take on this poem? Does it make you want to visit?

Available Now

My first book is now available at lulu.com. Visit and see for yourself. Come back and blog about it.