Twilight in St. Pete

for Sue Correll

"Are you ok about giving her stuff away?"
Shayna worries that I will hold onto the
delicate gold bracelet,
that I will be unable to part with
Dawn's past posessions,
that I will cry.
I hand her a napkin
and watch her dab here eyes with it.
We are leaning against a railing
at 7 o'clock in the summer
I'm sipping a strawberry daiquiri-
Shayna has an iced tea-
staring at the water, as
the pink sunlight distorts our reflections
until it looks like both of us are melting.
I know she is thinking about
giving the bracelet to her own daughter,
wondering how she will tell Dawn's story.
She will probably get weepy, talk
about my strength,
hope that she never has to prove that
she can pretend to be strong too.