Summer of More Grief

The family had lost friends and foes alike
Similitude in the cause of death
Nothing would distinguish them now
On the other side

This summer was way off its mark
The infirm leaves struggled to resist
The winds of rot

At the dining table
I didn't know how to eat bone marrow
My grandfather was disappointed
"Look at that waste
So much collagen lost
Back in my times
We used to make broth"

When you aren't old enough to store memories
Nothing to make you look back
Not a collector of reminiscences
I let the grandfather do the job

Lucky enough to look out of the window
In a pandemic summer of 2021
He escapes to 1938
Every now and then