My Brother-in-law wakes me at 3 a.m.
\nLying on the floor at The Bird House
\n“You should come downstairs”
\nMegan and baby Sylvia are sleeping in the bed above me
\n“Your Dad stopped breathing”
\nI lift myself out of Ambien sleep, foggy and null
\nAs I walk down the stairs my head becomes clear
\nDad is there waiting for us
\nI take his hand and tell him how much we love him,
\nThat we will always love him
\nThat it is OK to walk the path of the ancestors
\nThe Yaba Soore.
\nWe take his hands and kiss him
\nAs I kiss his chest I feel his heart beating strong and fast
\nHe’s warm and I kiss his shoulder right above the temporary tattoos of his two Fentanyl patches.
\nI walk outside, look up at the stars in the ice night. Orion has set. The deer are sleeping in a hollow in the woods. The Interstate hums and throbs over the rise
\nI take a drag from my vape pen – I developed the habit in the spring, worrying about him.
\nWalking back into his room I am overcome with grief, sobbing and hugging my mom
\n“It will be alright. Love you.”
\nDad, I hope you are hanging out with your friends
\nThe old guys from Boni
\nThe mask-makers
\nDrinking millet beer and telling stories about the people you love
\nWe will always tell stories about you, until we meet you again on the path of the ancestors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My Brother-in-law wakes me at 3 a.m. Lying on the floor at The Bird House “You should come downstairs” Megan and baby Sylvia are sleeping in the bed above me “Your Dad stopped breathing” I lift myself out of Ambien sleep, foggy and null As I walk down the stairs my head becomes clear Dad … <\/p>\n