Departure
for D.D.
by Allison Meraz

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When you are dead and parted out
perhaps we’ll meet
in the black forgiving earth.
All is forgiven
for family, their missing teeth
and eyes. Are you surprised?
Loves stay the same in afterlife
like maggots in amber.
They await the second coming
of fresh death and clamor
what was it like for you?
Did the cat act strange,
was your left arm numb?
But all is forgiven now.
They chant
welcome home, soul.
You, who hocked that ring
for Vegas, forgiven.
Wishing me dead
for the money, the criticism,
forgiven. As a child,
the new-formed frogs
you stomped to jelly
by the dozens—they know.
But the heart you gave up
is sufficient partial payment.
For now, forgiven.

©Allison Meraz

Allison holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. A Pushcart Prize nominee and former poetry editor for the Sonora Review, her work has appeared in various publications, including Quarterly West and Faultline. She lives inSacramento, California.

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