By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2025

First published in WestWard Quarterly (Summer Issue, July, 2025)

Sounds and songs of life,
flowing in a melody —
rising to new heights,
played for those we love…

memories in notes,
resounding from saxophones —
to the soulful keys,
shared with those above…

parents who we lost,
grandfathers and grandmothers —
voices blending with,
calls from mourning doves…

children holding brass
quivering in tremolos —
grateful for the joys,
that they yet dream of…

recalling the years,
that our loved ones shared with us —
pink and purple chords
brighter than foxgloves.