Pat Tyrer
What will happen when we become you.
Is it the end of mustard on pastrami when
it hides from you behind the mayonnaise?
Will the mate to your black sock continue
to ride the shelf in the dryer. Will you wear
your flannel shirt beyond donation and
never change the sheets again.
Will you talk to yourself as you do now
when you’re both the questioner
and the respondent. Will you survive
on toast and peanut butter.
I want you to fly when I’m gone, but
you’ve always been the caterpillar, not the butterfly.
Pat Tyrer is a writer who hikes and watches birds when the sun is up and star gazes when it’s not. When not reading or writing, she can be found out walking with her dog Emma. Her work has appeared in Readers’ Digest, Quiet Mountain Essays, Black Fox Literary Magazine, among others. She has published two poetry books: Creative Hearts (Path Publishing) and Western Spaces, Western Places (Local Gems Press).