Beloved

by Peter Austin

 

“Beloved wife of Harry and of Lou….”
His eulogy is hollow as a shell,
Although, to give the Holy Joe his due
He didn’t know her (maybe just as well).
I picture her reviving, sitting up,
Prognathous-jawed, a laser for an eye,
Informing this opinionated pup
That husbands are a snowstorm in July,

And, as for sons and in-laws, lose your comb
Or pay in June a bill that’s due in May,
They call a lawyer, put you in a home...
We thank him and repair to Swiss Chalet
To eat, for her, a piece of pecan pie
By way of a less traitorous goodbye.

[In Canada, Swiss Chalet is a popular, mid-range restaurant chain specializing in chicken and ribs]

Peter Austin lives in Toronto, where he teaches English at Seneca College. Over a hundred of his poems have been published, in such places as The New Formalist, Contemporary Sonnet, The Pennsylvania Review, The Barefoot Muse, The Chimaera, The Shit Creek Review and The Raintown Review.