Life Is; Life Isn't

Life Is; Life Isn't:
Memories of Mardi Gras

"You don't bury a husband
without losing weight,"
she said.
Her long dress touching the
floor hung a little looser
Than it had last year when he
was at her side.

"I have a young son here who's
got me out of breath
from dancing."
She sighed and touched a wet
spot on the corner of
her eye.

It's Mardi Gras in Mobile,
Alabama,
And the ghosts of the past
Still haunt the halls of the
Civic Center.

We see; we feel; we know
they never die.

Mary S. Palmer
First printed in Mobile Bay Monthly