Obits As Verbs And Other Parts of Speech
Pat Hanahoe-Dosch
1.
has been missing since
formerly of
where he enjoyed the sun, beach, scuba diving
and how moonlight and rising sun sparked and burned away the rising dawn
through a film of water as he lay watching beneath the ocean,
light and life filtered into blurs of color and rainbows
till the surface was unbearable, unreachable
hopefully after his body is recovered
mass
In lieu of
2.
died at home on
went on to earn a degree in
worked as a mathematician
married, moved, raised five children who bloomed
like dandelions, daisy fleabane, and woodland violets in a neglected lot beside an empty house
a long time facilitator
the Transfiguration
In lieu of flowers
3.
was a member of
a native of
an avid
enjoyed
took tap dancing lessons that left him breathless, sweaty, giddy
and full of music in his stomach, head, chest, and everywhere blood goes in the body
like sex with his wife when they were first married and for months
is survived
In lieu of flowers consider
4.
graduated from
survived by
took flying lessons one summer, fell in love
with the feel of air currents under metal wings,
flowing along the jet stream, rocked by trade winds, and once, the helpless toss of a Sirocco
while traveling with his wife who loved steady rocks and dirt under her feet
is preceded in death by
and welcomes the
viewing is
In lieu of flowers consider donating
5.
surrounded by
at home
hospice hospital bed with rails that
sometimes stick
quietly but
once she shook the hand of a pope in St. Peter’s Basilica as he exited mass and stopped
to give his blessing to those in front. She had really wanted to see the Dalai Lama in India
but no one would travel with her and she was afraid to go by herself, so
she traveled with her husband and daughter to Rome and was happy, she said
a long illness
nondisclosure
no one wants to know
how it really ended
In lieu of flowers consider donating wishes
Pat Hanahoe-Dosch’s poems have been published in The Paterson Literary Review, Rattle, The Atticus Review, Panoplyzine, Confrontation, Rust + Moth, American Literary Review, Apple Valley Review, The Red River Review, San Pedro River Review, Apt, among many others. Her books of poems, The Wrack Line, and Fleeing Back, can be found at Amazon.com or at the FutureCycle Press website. Her short stories have been published in The Peacock Journal, In Posse Review, Sisyphus, Manzano Mountain Review, and the Schuylkill Valley Journal.
