A Poem by Doug Bolling

After

0n my gravestone I want the

best memories to be carved:

How you lifted the mountain

off my back.

The day you drove the '88 Chevy

off the interstate
and into my heart.

Just the method you used

to cook the burgers
on the outside grill
even when it rained
all the way down to
your shoes.

That November when we missed

the bus to 0rlando and spent
the night in the laundry room
of an Atlanta nursing home.

And sure, the darkest night

when Polly your best dog
gave up the ghost
on the bathroom mat
and you cried your
golden tears
almost till dawn.

So ends this epistle

to those who visit here
on their damn
vacations.




Doug Bolling's poetry has appeared in Poetalk, Blue Unicorn, Tribeca Poetry Review, Hurricane Review, Indefinite Space, Illuminations, Iodine Poetry Journal and Convergence among others.
He has received three Pushcart Prize nominations and currently resides outside Chicago in Flossmoor, Illinois. His poetry has been both experimental and traditional.