Goodbye, John
Your funeral was tender…An Irish
Sing-song of tears, beer and wishes of
being in heaven a half hour before the devil
knew you were dead.
But we haven’t talked in three years, a steep
decline in our friendship was evident to the mourners
when asked if I have visited you recently.
Dreams, like closeness die easy, when you take a peek in
the valley…finding few takers keeping the torch lit.
The scourge of ignoring…focus on your own interpretation of
extinction…closeness with former pals becomes just comic as you attend
more rituals that bury former acquaintances.
Dan Provost’s poetry has been published both online and in print since 1993. He is the author of 17 books/chapbooks, including All in a Pretty Little Row, released by Roadside Press, in November 2023. Notes From the Other Side of the Bed will be published by A Thin Slice of Anxiety Press in early 2025. His work has been nominated for The Best of the Net three times and has read his poetry throughout the United States. He lives in Keene, New Hampshire with his wife Laura, and dog Bella.
