golden brain lit with pale sunlight 
since the day you were born

mind finally in the limelight for running on fumes
the grandmother caretaker gardener bows out

eyes glimmer in the sterile lamplight
like the echoes of long-dead twinkle little stars 

rain drops keep falling on my head
silly songs that stick and stab

you were already dead three months before it became real
when you smiled and nodded your way through recognizing me

the itsy bitsy spider fell down the water spout
does our shared genetic code signal devotion or decline

garden shed out back of the house my dad grew up in
will the new family remember to water your panises?

I remember when you'd kneel down to put the last piece in my Disney-trash puzzle
I remember when your knees gave out and your heart gave out and you still smoked any paper in the house 
I remember how you knew something was out of place, first those glass birds on the windowsill then the twittering of your mind 
I remember you as you were, as you are, as you tried to remember me 

life to life, mind to mind, earth to earth, ashes, ashes 
we all fall down 

but the days are lengthening
summer's stretching her trim calves 

ready or not,
here comes the sun