Adam Falkner
Eulogy: Golden Shovel Upon Killing the Only House Plant Keeping Me Alive
“I watched the news come. And I opened my mouth.” —Franny Choi, Soft Science
In the year we were our sickest or knew someone who was, you suggested I
parent a palm tree to keep from doomscrolling. We watched
Central Park transform into an ICU village—I pruned & watered daily. The
police murdered people while I screamed at the news
& misted fronds to fend off gin binges. I won’t let the world come
for you, friend, I even whispered one morning while rotating it toward the light. &
then, one day, a tickle of autumn began a dance across its edges & I
could not make it stop. Soon, it bent. Crisped. When I told you, an old shame opened.
Even this, I howled. Even this. Later, when I finally agreed, you arrived to help drag my
failed friendship to the curb. You kissed me. The warmth of new life from your mouth.
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Image by Hemz from Pexels
Dr. Adam Falkner is a poet, performer, and educator. He is the author of The Willies (Winner of the 2021 Midwestern Independent Book Award), and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Rumpus, Painted Bride Quarterly, Diode Poetry Journal, and on PBS and HBO. He holds a PhD in English & Education from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn with his small but mighty terrier, Clamshell.
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