Being With
Midlife, middle age, mid:
meaning
amid.
Amid the apex—a turning point a
blustering blinding stumbling
toward old age. Shit.
When you died
I was running
towards it.
Mid also, originally, meant
with.
As in midwife.
With.
I was with
today as his
tiny hand
grabbed
the daffodils, surprised,
touching the severed end—
Wet!
Flowers are full
of water inside.
Like us.
Nana!? AGAIN!
Laughing water rushing
out of me; true
heartstring laughter,
as I gather up
the pile of heads.
Lisa St. John is a writer living in the beautiful Hudson Valley of upstate New York where she calls the Catskill Mountains home. Her chapbook, Ponderings, is available on her website at lisachristinastjohn.com. Her first full-length book of poetry is forthcoming from Kelsay Books. Lisa has published her poetry in journals such as The Ekphrastic Review, Light, Entropy Magazine, The Poetry Distillery, Poets Reading the News, and Chronogram Magazine. Her poems have won awards such as The Poet’s Billow’s Bermuda Triangle Contest. Lisa’s poetry has also been shortlisted for prizes such as The Fish Poetry Prize and New Millennium Writing’s 44th Literary Awards. Her nonfiction appears in magazines like Sleet and GoNomad.com.
the poet's billow 