THE KERRS

The Kerrs were different
From our other neighbors
In the early '50s.
He was retired army,
She, a war bride from Poland.
He, very alcoholically,
Celebrated Christmas.
She, on the other hand,
The hand attached
To the forearm
With the concentration
Camp tattoo,
Did not.
My father liked to
Have a drink with him.
I liked to talk to her.
Both were haunted
By events
From ten years before.
He, to no one's surprise,
Drank himself to death.
She, on the other hand,
The hand that tightly
Held on to life,
Did not.
In the end,
She was
The strong one.

8/30/15