family (a form somehow must)

family (a form somehow must)
Gwynne Garfinkle

the cat vanishes forever
between one episode and the next

so does our beloved dog
(we don't notice)

the girls once had a different dad
the boys, a different mom

now they're gone
never to be mentioned

like the braces one of us had
on her teeth for a week

we've forgotten those
who might wish to seek

traces of the dead
in our faces, mannerisms

the past is fractured beyond repair
like Mom's favorite vase