• You should have died
    tending your lawn,
    dragging that long snake
    of water from flower to flower
    and every blade of grass.

    You should have died with your
    bonnet on
    and hoe in hand
    and as I would have remembered you
    when you were ninety-two.

    You should have died that way
    on your own two feet
    and with your faith in God
    and everyone knowing
    that if there was a god
    you would be with him.

    You should have died that way
    and not as you did
    after your stroke and two years,
    hearing angels' voices
    and being afraid
    never being able to walk
    or see clearly with your bright eyes.

    The three of us know it-
    you should have died
    giving life to your blades of grass

    and for this knowledge
    I do not know if I can forgive
    Him.