This week’s poem, by David Moreau, is written in homage to his friend
Ted Bookey, a beloved Maine poet and teacher who passed away in 2019, at the age of 90. I love this poem’s clarion springtime imagery, and the deep sweetness of its wish.

Moreau lives in Wayne with his wife, son and daughter. He works in Lewiston with adults who are developmentally disabled and is the author of the poetry collection “If You’re Happy and You Know it, Clap Your Hand,” drawn from his long career as a caregiver.

After Spending Most of Your Life Claiming You Don’t Believe in God, Is it Too Much to Ask for an Afterlife?
By David Moreau

for Ted Bookey

One day in the spring
I see the brown leaf
that clings to the beech tree,
encouraged by the wind,
leap off its branch
and do loop-de-loops
in the air.

May you participate
in such delight
wherever you are.

Megan Grumbling is a poet and writer who lives in Portland. Deep Water: Maine Poems is produced in collaboration with the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. “After Spending Most of Your Life…,” copyright 2023 by David Moreau, appears by permission of the author.

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