Gerald Yelle
Animal Magnets
She had a fifty-piece puzzle.
Nothing
wrong with her eyes
–her shaky hands
couldn’t handle small pieces.
This one showed
kittens with a ball of yarn.
She always hated felines.
On the nightstand
a newspaper crossword.
A five-letter word for jewelry
she wrote “rings.”
She never
heard of “bling.”
When I said I couldn’t
grieve
they said I was in denial
and gave me a magnet
with a number
to call if I wanted to talk.
I said I
am talking.
They said it gets
worse before it gets better.