Repeat After Me by Gaby Edwards

Repeat After Me

Woke to a heavy dread, as if

light itself could not bring the day

as if the next day might not even bring 

that thing with feathers, and maybe no birds at all.

Then later the marsh filled with

the first great tide of winter

a gray sheen bright as a mirror

The phone rang. I told my daughter

I lacked courage for the days ahead

wrapping their darkness around us 

like a winter shawl

She remembered years ago living in Italy

she’d heard the Italians using a word

of reassurance to frightened children or

troubled friends: Coraggio, they would declare

Coraggio! Coraggio, I echoed

Like birds we sang it across the wires to each other:

Coraggio! Coraggio!

Gaby Edwards

Gaby Edwards is a retired English teacher and a longtime admirer of the vital work offered by Hospice. Her mom died back in the early 90s, and even then there were Hospice caregivers in the little valley town of Yuba City. They guided the family with gentle wisdom through a tough time.