Remembering Marvin
by Shirley Hilton

A force of a man
packed into a small body
sent to the jungle to
fight in a war of children
came home to
write a lifetime of poetry.
And like Dorothy
he was beautiful, inexactly.
He laughed at the absurdity
of life. He worked in the deep
quiet of morning. He thought
he was going deaf. Turns out
he was going blind. He signed
his books with pleasure
and meant it.

Shirley Hilton’s writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Rattle, Briefly Write, The Edison Literary Review, and Delmarva Review, among others. Her poems Dance and Maria Arena have been set to music by award-winning jazz musician Ryan Middagh. She is currently completing edits on her first novel.