How to Stay Occupied as Your Friend is Dying

in memory of Russell Libby, 1956—2012,
former Executive Director of MOFGA

By Cynthia Brackett-Vincent

Paint your nails in the Jeep as your husband drives south.
But then you hear rain on the roof
and remember his poem—rivers flowing, water meeting.

Shop at Toys R Us for your granddaughter’s birthday.
But then you think of generations and how
like Russell, your tree-loving father left earth in December.

Stop for a snack since both of you are hungry.
Recall with a smile, Russell’s own—
how pleased he was to share a poem, a potluck meal.

In addition to The Penmen Review, “How to Stay Occupied as Your Friend is Dying” was published in And Still We Return to Love: Remembering Russell Libby.

Category: Poetry, SNHU Creative Writing, SNHU online creative writing, SNHU Student

About the Author

Cynthia Brackett-Vincent has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in poetry. She has published/edited “the Aurorean” poetry journal since 1995 and has had more than 100 of her own poems plus nonfiction published in the United States and abroad. Her 2012 co-edited anthology, “Women on Poetry: Writing, Revising, Publishing and Teaching” (McFarland), was named one of 100 Best Books for Writers by Poets & Writers. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maine at Farmington and an AA in Social Sciences from Quincy College (MA). Cynthia is pursuing her MA in English/Creative Writing—Poetry at Southern New Hampshire University. She lives in Maine with her husband and their three rescue cats. She has three grown sons, three daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren. She considers “Grammie, what does poetry mean?” to be (so far) one of the best questions she has ever been asked.