It is not the death I remember.

It is that his brown pajamas
had a stain of canned-peach syrup—
canned peaches his only sustenance
those last few days.

The stain his sister used
to judge our lack of care.
She arrived at the last minute,
not knowing that
pulling his pajama shirt
over his head
would have hurt.

So we figured
he could face death
with a peach-syrup stain.
A stain
that would stay with me
forever.

Dolo Diaz is a scientist and poet with roots in Spain, currently residing in California. Her work has appeared in  The Summerset Review, ONE ART, The Lake, Third Wednesday, Rogue Agent, among others.  Website: dolodiaz.com.

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