When I learned you died     

The call unmoored me

from my self     Brackish waters

Kourosh made me tea

Told me about the Sloane Museum

A solemn place in London

He promised we’d visit one day

We went to Bickford park

Where there was a soccer game

And in the trees, a brass band played

On the bench, a trashy paperback

like the kind you would have read

It was horror      A mystery

We looked through the fog

to one red tree amongst the green

Time layered     He said

You’re with me in the same way

I’m with my future children 

 

___________________

Cassidy McFadzean is the author of two books of poetry with her third, Crying Dress forthcoming from House of Anansi in 2024. Her fiction has appeared in Joyland, Maisonneuve, Prism International, The Malahat Review, and CALYX.