For C.
Though she looked almost too gaunt, too ill,
she was maid of honor for her sister
determined to join, no matter she was frail —
talked in a whisper.
When, once, the chronic fatigue lifted,
she played the flute, sang for us all –
in full celebration of Thanksgiving.
But, alas, two months after the nuptial,
the mystery disease came to kill her.
Six saddest men carried the light coffin.
Could only whisper.
Lavinia Kumar’s latest prose book is of 100 women: Spirited American Women: Early Writers, Artists, & Activists. She’s published 3 poetry books & 4 chapbooks. Poems and flash fiction appear in a variety of poetry journals, & 3 anthologies. She’s received four Pushcart and one Best of the Net nominations.
