by Lori Desrosiers

We scatter her ashes
in a cemetery garden near the house
protected by roses, blossoming cherry.

I open the bag inside the urn.
They look different than expected,
dry and brown with tiny bits of bone,
more sand-soft than powdery.

My daughters take their turns
and I take mine. My mother
does not blow away
but lands.

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Lori Desrosiers’ poetry books are The Philosopher’s Daughter (Salmon Poetry, 2013); a chapbook, Inner Sky (Glass Lyre Press 2015); and Sometimes I Hear the Clock Speak (Salmon Poetry, 2016). A new book of poems, Keeping Planes in the Air, will be out in March, 2019 from Salmon. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She edits Naugatuck River Review, a journal of narrative poetry, and Wordpeace, an online journal dedicated to peace and justice.