Día de Muertos

autumn leaves
the smallest tree
still green

Día de Muertos
marigolds
haunting my nose

brushing dirt
from my mother’s cheek
funeral home

faint reflection
on her face
a mother’s story

everything the same but
nothing remains
childhood village

tree and field
and sky the same
autumn haze

sounding
the hours between us
dusk and dawn

flowers
fade to daylight
missing you

Día de Muertos
my mother’s smile
on my face

Chandra Kierstead Bales
All the trees: haiku and other poems (2018)
used by permission of the author