Why Not Go Over Poem by Donal Mahoney

Why not go over and see Aunt Maude.
She was told yesterday she’s dying
of cancer, and drop in her afghan

lap a big box of pecan fudge
made by monks in Kentucky,
silent monks who make

fudge and fruitcake and pray
all day and rise again
all hours of the night

and pray some more, and then
drop in her lap as well a box
of her other passion,

a crossword puzzle, not
500 pieces, the kind she buys
at Walmart, but a lollapalooza

of a thousand pieces and help her
laugh today and live tomorrow
because your aunt won’t die

if she has fudge to eat
and a puzzle to bring to life
on her dining room table