Blossom after blossom,
petals fade and fall.
And we forget why
we bought our timeshare,
the cruise to Turkey,
and season tickets
to the ballet.

Veins in leaves
stop transporting sap,
shrivel and fall. Our delight
in film drops away. We donate
two shelves of self-help books
to Goodwill and give up walking
to Jane Fonda’s CD. 

Limbs turn dark, dry up,
are easily broken. We consider
taking a class in post modernism,
but don’t. We buy two new lift-chairs.
Eating out is just too much trouble.
Peanut butter and marmalade
have never tasted better.

Only our stalks are left,
not beautiful to the eye but tall
and healthy enough to sink
deep roots. We embrace
our true and noble hearts,
the perennial flowers
that blossom there.
And finally we know—
what we have left
is all that we ever were.

—From Gilmore’s book in progress, Dharma Box, forthcoming from KYSO Flash in 2018

Bio: Dan Gilmore