Butterfly Hands
by Wanda Morrow Clevenger

They said thoughtful words over a fine man
over memorial weekend, we waiting behind
waiting our turn, planning on a long wait
watching our weight, cutting back on cigarettes
and booze and salt
none of us getting younger

and the boys were home
Monte grilled kabobs with Vidalias
I tried an internet recipe that didn’t fly,
a sticky flop for landfill moochers, and

Ryan made butterfly hands and signed for
‘more’ apple bites
made animal sounds
said every word he knew
signed every sign he knew
played with his daddy’s old toy cars trucks tractors
eased the ache at losing a fine friend

and two llamas were bought to guard the pasture
over memorial weekend
Ryan said the llama goes moooo.

Wanda Morrow Clevenger lives in Hettick, IL. Over 160 pieces of her work appear in very numerous print and electronic publications. Her debut book This Same Small Town in Each of Us, a collection of memoir, poetry and flash fiction, released on October 30, 2011. Wanda is currently compiling her first book of poetry. To view a sampling of published and new work, visit: http://wlc-wlcblog.blogspot.com/