—for my father
Umbilical cord coiled
around my neck
the first time you held me.
Still, but hopeful.
Some forty years later,
your body, ashes
in a ceramic pot,
still, when it is my turn
to carry you.
Rodger LeGrand is a Pushcart nominated poet and the author of several collections of poetry, including Bells (2025). His poems have appeared in many literary journals. He has taught at MIT and Penn. Currently he designs humanitarian education courses at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
