An Oyster without a Pearl

In memory of Carole Mack

My father is an oyster without a pearl.
Carole was his pearl.
She spoke her mind.
Now he is an empty shell, tossed on the shore.
Their years together
the best of his life.

My father is drift wood. He has no home.
He lives in my condo till he finds a place of his own.
He’s whittled by time,
dried wood, washed ashore.

My father is a seagull. Complaining, squawking
about everything, the dust behind the bed,
the room is too cold. He has trouble walking, back pain. A seagull, he lets you know.

My father is tide roaring in, as it dissipates
near the shore. My father is unafraid
as he faces death.

My father is an oyster without a pearl.
Carole was his pearl.

Marjorie Sadin has recently published a chapbook, Struck by Love, and a full length book, Vision of Lucha, by Goldfish Press. She has published her poetry nationally. Marjorie lives in Virginia and reads her poems locally. She is a docent for the Library of Congress and editor of The Federal Poets Magazine.