21 April 2024

By Philip Kuepper

I row the spirit boat
toward where Michael has been
dwelling these past four years
beyond his death,
his presence there, his presence here,
his presence, once a body,
now, a breath.
I breathe his presence into my life,
to keep him alive,
to keep him from death’s embrace,
to keep him from an eternity of no longer being.
I row the spirit boat, in this life, toward him.

(19 April 2024)