Welcome to Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets. This week’s featured poet is Terry Loncaric.
Loncaric lives in Hampshire, Illinois. She said she has three lives. A poet, a journalist, and an educator, and these lives collide through her poetry. Loncaric wrote two poetry books, “Crashing in Velvet” for Finishing Line Press, and most recently, “Poetry in an Age of Panic” for Kelsay Books. She also hosts a monthly open mic of original songs and poetry at Stage Left Cafe in Woodstock. Today’s poem honors her mother. It’s called “The Love That Remains.”
A visceral memory of you,
swaddled in an Afghan
on your recliner,
watching too many hours
of Fox News,
gossiping with neighbors,
your legs bouncing back-and-forth
(an after effect
of giving up cigarettes).
Your condo was like
Grand Central Station.
You had a TV in every room,
just in case you missed
something important
in the news.
After you died,
I wanted to wrap myself
in the blanket
that once held
your body so closely.
I kept the Afghan
in the trunk of my car
for a few weeks,
hoping I could keep
something familiar alive.
Your warm skin,
your citrus scent,
your cosmic energy,
the last
of your precious DNA
slowly left
the Afghan,
until I realized
all that remained
was the flame
of your love.
That’s all that
ever mattered.
--Terry Loncaric
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
