The Wake at Unicoi

At the wake on Unicoi,
out poured our worth,
once there,
we pushed and pulled,
and tore out holes,
by the fistful,
in that rocky
Appalachian
earth.

When Sonja fell,
we gathered at the foothill,
raised our fists
to rail against
the fences
the gods had built
to keep us out.

These are the palisades
against which we pressed
and yelled.

Fuel the fire
and wake to the fumes,
Rusty, please don’t burn me,
though you may want to.

He then raised a toast,
though, the Fey glimmer
in his eye had dulled,
to remind us of the great hope:

“There’s a plan behind all of this.”

John,
the mourner,
the brother,
the sojourner,
was hurt so badly,
even St. Helen’s ice
could not soothe
his pain.

The humming funeral father
brought his peaceful offering,
to a place where no peace
remained, but,
it went unheard
over the droning
of the pain.

How in Hell
could such a thing
happen to her?

When she fell, I asked,

“Where is god when you need him?

Bless you, Sonja.
Bless you, Sonja.
We miss you, girl.

There are lights
that glow so brightly
we forget they are surrounded
by the empty blackness of night.

Sonja was such a light,
and I desperately tried
to help Scott save her life,
but, there was only an echo
in her beautiful eyes.

Southern Magnolias,
still waxy green
in the Autumn wind…

A hidden message
carved in a hidden place
that forever remembers…

In these things, we see
just how much she meant
to the ones that loved her.

© CG Tenpenny, 2022.

Thinking about an experience that hurt and scarred me deeply. I miss you “Sonja.”