A Portrait of Grief
A Poem Composed by Gabriel Bates
She’s sitting on the couch,
beautiful as always,
putting her sneakers on.
It’s an old pair
she hasn’t worn
in a few years.
That’s when the tears start
coming out of nowhere,
and I ask her,
“What’s wrong?”
But she doesn’t say anything.
She just points at something
stuck to the insoles—
a couple of white hairs
from the family dog
that’s dead and gone.
Bio: Gabriel Bates is a poet living in Tiffin, Ohio. His work has appeared in several publications, online and in print. Keep up with him at gabrielbates.substack.com