For the late Helen Kinnear

The woman I know

would hug cactus

if God told her to

(and she didn’t have to walk too far).

 The woman I know

would blame herself

if God went missing

(as She seems to some days).

 The woman I know

would marry men

on single-minded journeys

(when she believed in destinations).

 The woman I know

would only survive surgery

with Divine intervention

(and an iced coffee transfusion).

The woman I know

would believe in me

on the flimsiest of evidence

(and question my sanity when I returned the compliment).

 The woman I know

would think the world might end

if she wasn’t steering someone straight;

(and she’d be right).

 The woman I know

would think she was clapped out at 50

but then bat on

(because St. Rodney Marsh would).

 For Helen