Poem #325 of 365

"dying uncle in Abilene"

i've never written that configuration
of words before,
i've never ever seen them
together like that on a screen.

somehow, a finality.
and i wish i'd not typed them
flat-out like that, wish i hadn't
been cursed to
read them on the screen,
looking so official and certain
this afternoon.

how do i undo this, that which has
been written and
allowed to set in as factual truth?

maybe i can scramble the message,
make something new in these words
to discern instead:

"uncle in dying Abilene"

"Abilene dying, uncle in"

or further, mishmash the letters
to quite distance myself from cancer
and suffering, familial loss and pain:

"lean, ying, nun, Abe"

"undying clean Nile"

but, ultimately, cuz it's
best that i face fully what he
has already known:

"in u lean. i end cling. bye."

copyright 2007 tammy melody gomez