MORTALITY

Everyone who died in the last two days was over 89.
Which is a great relief to me.
Some people check the obituaries
out of morbid curiosity.
Others to see if friends have died.
I check for reassurance.
Telford Taylor, Who
Prosecuted Nazis at Nuremberg,
Is Dead at 90.
Charles D. Webster, 92,
Leader of Garden and Wildlife Groups.
Belle Zeller, 95,
Union Leader and Professor.
My Father, Who Couldn't Stop Smoking Cigarettes,
Was Dead From Lung Cancer at 66.
I can't imagine life without my mother in it.
It's not that I see her so often.
Or that I depend on her for things.
But I need to know she's there.
This year, she's 83.
So I scan the Times for evidence of longevity.
Let's see. . . hey!
Lillian Atherford, Researcher and Botanist,
Dies in Her Sleep
in Her Valley Stream, Long Island Home at 103.


© Ellen Azorin