Kristen Wood
Leaf
My faith is autumn.
Brightly colored,
ever-changing.
Layers upon layers
of intensity.
It fades
as the days pass.
Clinging to bare branches,
holding on for dear life.
My faith is autumn.
But winter is coming,
and the last leaf falls.
Mourning
I wore black to your funeral.
Left flowers on your grave.
Cried appropriately.
It didn't help.
Nothing helped.
Until I put on my red shirt
because it was your favorite.
And I smiled when I thought
of the crinkles you got around your eyes
when you were concentrating.
I washed your car once a week
because you always did,
and I stopped leaving flowers
and left you a shot
of your favorite whisky.
I toasted to you.
And I cried.
But I laughed, too
because you always said
I had a great laugh.
Kristen Wood is a mother of five, a writer, a reader, a student, and an aspiring librarian. She has had her work published in Mothers Always Write, Whisper and the Roar, Scary Mommy, and is an ongoing contributor to the online magazine Still Standing, She regularly laughs until she cries and cries until she laughs. She is a proud pop culture geek and a champion napper. Kris loves to make people laugh and to make people think, and if she can do both at the same time, even better.
Leaf
My faith is autumn.
Brightly colored,
ever-changing.
Layers upon layers
of intensity.
It fades
as the days pass.
Clinging to bare branches,
holding on for dear life.
My faith is autumn.
But winter is coming,
and the last leaf falls.
Mourning
I wore black to your funeral.
Left flowers on your grave.
Cried appropriately.
It didn't help.
Nothing helped.
Until I put on my red shirt
because it was your favorite.
And I smiled when I thought
of the crinkles you got around your eyes
when you were concentrating.
I washed your car once a week
because you always did,
and I stopped leaving flowers
and left you a shot
of your favorite whisky.
I toasted to you.
And I cried.
But I laughed, too
because you always said
I had a great laugh.
Kristen Wood is a mother of five, a writer, a reader, a student, and an aspiring librarian. She has had her work published in Mothers Always Write, Whisper and the Roar, Scary Mommy, and is an ongoing contributor to the online magazine Still Standing, She regularly laughs until she cries and cries until she laughs. She is a proud pop culture geek and a champion napper. Kris loves to make people laugh and to make people think, and if she can do both at the same time, even better.