by Barbara Loots
Three family members whose bodies were found in the living room of a Glenaire house over the summer all died of natural causes possibly related to the untimely death of the home caretaker… The family dog was also found dead next to a toilet in the bathroom. —Kansas City STAR, September 21, 2021
No one knew it when the old man died.
The uncollected mail, unanswered phone,
untended grass. Nobody notified
authorities. He’d always coped alone
with caring for his sister and his mother,
dependent as the dog for food and drink
on one who didn’t want to be a bother
to friends or neighbors. What are we to think
of this small tragedy? Whom shall we curse?
Who counts inconsequential lives like these,
as millions vanish from the universe
from hunger, guns, disaster, and disease?
Humanity has nothing new to learn.
When time has ended, still the stars will burn.
Barbara Loots wonders why we worry when we are all so small in the overall scheme of things.
