Poem for Memorial Day

Death, Like a River
Death, like a river,
removes us,
name by name,
without regard,
sending us seaward.
All current and eddy,
the river ignores
the man-made levee
in its oxbow meandering,
seeking delta and slough.
It proceds without sound,
accepting each tributary,
each feeder and branch,
channel and rill,
as water is meant to do.
From Atmospheric Rivers (2023)