*.Wendy would be 69 today- had she lived. I was just a kid when my friend begged me to have my Dad, a pastor, drive her to the hospital. She died in the backseat of our old station wagon,
One rose for Wendy.
I'm taking one rose for Wendy
to give to the river from the Bridge
I'm taking one single rose,
red as the blood she lost
red as the stains that will never come clean
from the hands of the man in the dirty kitchen
one single rose
not much for a girl who never got to be 16,
on what would have been her 69h birthday
lost now these 53 years
in the version of a back alley
we had in Rhode Island
from the dark days before we had a choice
in the dark days when doors slammed
and you couldn't go to school
and your Mama wouldn't look at you
if you were 'in trouble'
in the dark days
when Wendy went all alone
while the Uncle who hurt her
drank beer at the bowling alley
in Artic with his buddies
back in the days
when women had no choice
when we mattered so little
I'm taking one rose for Wendy
and I will never
forget
or give up the fight
never.
###’
Love, Ellie
And from this May 2022
I saw you today on the way to the post office.
Your hair wasn't gold anymore
it was bronze with time and wind
streaked with the white of sea foam in your braids
.
I heard you today
laughing behind me on the street with your grandchildren
teasing you as you scolded lovingly.
I felt your hand on mine as I wiped my eyes dry
before the man handed me the mail
and I went home.
I heard you whisper
remember me
remember me.
I tasted the salt of the tears
I was biting back
for I will always always remember.
You,
Forever 16.
Dying in the backseat
before we could get to the hospital.
You
Forever 16
wth your laughter stilled
and only an echo on a breeze
to remind me.
For Wendy,
ecb 5/6/2022