Life and Death in 26 Haikus

Heidi, Jan 1:

beginning the year

with the last days of a trip

odd, frustrating, sad

Maria, Jan. 11:

Today I live, breathe

No tragedy this moment

Thank you God, for this

Heidi, Jan. 16:

within all tonight

O wonderful MRI

your dark and light shine

Maria, Jan. 17:

Great news this morning

Normalcy might be coming

And we thirst for it

Heidi, Feb. 6:

the map of my scalp

describes a whirl round the crown

my hair thickening

Maria, Feb. 12:

A pleasant Sunday

Snow, church, grandparent’s visit

We smile in joy

Heidi, Feb. 16:

the lump in my back

palpable, mysterious

joining this fellfray?

Heidi, Feb 22:

O dread PET scan

You obscure as you reveal

Just here, the road turns

Maria, Feb. 23:

Familiar feeling

go away I don’t like you

chaos descending

Heidi, Feb. 26:

The Oscars tonight

Frothy dresses and flat jokes

Tomorrow, life/death

Maria, Feb. 28:

Full days, weary bones

The world is turning, twisting

Seeking calm and rest

Heidi, March 3:

Home! And yet so weak

Am I all here?  Exhausted.

Tepid Homecoming.

Maria, March 5:

I lay next to you

Grasp your arm tightly; -- hold on

Across the miles

Maria, March 24:

O cruel, wild world

How your winds blow, frazzle, tear

Will you restore us?

Maria, April 6:

I am losing grasp

Sick friend, I don’t hear from you…

What mysteries lie?

Heidi, April 11:

a long hiatus

no haiku, just traveling

and preparing to

Maria, April 23:

What is happening

In this horrible landscape

Where life becomes death

Heidi, May 15:

Oh failure, hospice

No more battles to be waged

Set those burdens down

Oh hospice, release

No more a life in pieces

My life lived by me

Maria, May 17:

This is happening

I step into a wasteland

The Land of Knowing

Heidi, May 18:

Maria, my friend

Comes to me like spring sun

Fall leaves, Winter’s spark

Maria, May 19:

Fire and Panic

Please-don’t-let-this-happen.  Please

don’t-let-this-happen

Maria, June 24:

Maria?... Yes, Mitch?...

Heidi’s dead.          OK, I said.

Where we go from here?

Maria, June 26:

I rest in this tub

very place where I used to

write haikus for you.

Maria, July 15:

I find myself still

Writing haikus for Heidi

Is she beside me?

Maria, August 15:

No longer want to

Write my haiku.  Like I just

Realized you’re gone.