M. C. Aster was born in Yugoslavia, a country that no longer exists, and has lived on three continents. Aster’s poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies; forthcoming in Riverbed Review and Cephalopod Anthology. Pushcart nominee Aster calls Southern California home and fosters two endangered Mojave Desert tortoises.
One Last Wallow
Tomorrow
I’ll walk your shadow out
And tightly close the door.
But today
I will lie moribund
Alone in the musty darkness
Sucking on the smoky residue
Of your once omnipotent presence.
Tomorrow
The jacarandas may scatter
A flush of violet on the street
Tomorrow
The blue jays may call all day
And never once shriek out
Your name.
But today
I will be insufferably weak
Sigh your sighs
Breathe your breaths
And for a heart-beat longer
Feed the dying fire.