Forget

we sat in the car
traffic on the left
small indonesian shops
looking clean in the darkness
after the rain
pushing my pain into a tidy box
out for the evening
mustn’t look like
the grieving mother I am

sitting with unbidden thoughts
crushing me
a small mote of hope…
it would be so easy
just think it’s a lie
a mistake
I can’t accept her suicide
so why not pretend?
my mind stirred — Please?

just like she’d say
Please, Momma?
small scooters
motor cycles
foreign car makes and models
speed by
darkness such a cloying thing
if it were only that easy
rub a genie’s bottle
drop a coin
into a magic wishing well
wish upon a star

brown paper wrapper
surrounds a box
of her ashes
hard to forget
or will away
waits for me at home

a smile curls my lips
never reaching my eyes
I make small talk
to people I may never meet again
ridiculous…
why put that much energy
into denial?
later
tears fall
Why?

By Trish Shields

Biography:

Trish Shields was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, but grew up in Europe.  She has studied creative writing at the Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario.  ‘Soul Speak’, a book of poetry published by Troubadour Books, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in 2001.  Trish has two books of poetry published and her work has appeared in numerous anthologies.  Her poetry and short stories have been published internationally. Trish’s novel, ‘Inferno’ is published by Baycrest Books.  Her first chapbook, Coast Lines, is co-authored by Katherine L. Gordon, released in February 2007.  Trish was asked to edit M.E.Tudor’s book entitled The Perfect Proposal, which was published in 2015.