Elephant

My cousins are on the sofa --
firsts & removeds alike --
my aunts are in the kitchen,
parents, too, I think,
my uncle is on the porch -- grilling --
there is food everywhere
& booze, too
everyone is laughing
because no one wants to cry
this is grandma's house,
but grandma isn't here.

For days we've sat by her hospital bed --
sometimes talking, sometimes not --
nurses have gone back & forth
on the patio, in the lobby
plans have been made & unmade,
questions asked & things left unsaid
everyone is hugging
because no one wants to cry
we're at grandma's house,
but grandma isn't here.

-- kml 7/30/08