Jane Poems

not since donald hall’s poems about the fatal illness of his wife jane kenyon has a poet so delicately evoked the illness of his wife, another jane, in this collection.

—George S. Lensing

[the jane poems] just about broke my heart. the pain is so palpable—and yet the poems are beautifully controlled, always alert to sound, image, phrasing, never a drop of self-pity.

—Kelly Cherry

moran uses plain language to great effect, crafting narrative poems that are compelling and self-contained, but when linked together in this collection, create a poignant love story and in a sense, a how-to-manual for living with the hardships of a long illness, surviving the loss of a loved one and coping with the grief and isolation that follows.

—Richard Allen Taylor

one could do well to come to the end of life with someone like ronald moran in attention—someone caring and solicitous to a dying person’s needs, someone willing to write about the death journey—not just the love and small joys; but the doubts, missteps, and insecurities as well.

—Susan Laughter Meyers

acknowledgments  vii

Dedication  viii

part one

At the Lincoln Diner  2

The Courtship 3

A Poem for Jane  4

Interloper  5

Double Passage in Mid-Life  6

A Night on the Road  7

Through an Upstairs Window  8

Weddings  9

Room by Room  10

Sound Waves  11

Dress Codes  12

Part Two

Flight Patterns  14

The Prize   15

Mirrors  16

At the Kitchen Table 17

Tic Tacs  18

Sounds of a Late Afternoon  19

Saying These Things  20

Jane  21

Foreplay  22

What I Can Do from Here  23

Surgical Waiting Room  24

The Breakdown  25

Golden Anniversary  27

A Clearing Over Caesars Head  28

The Frame 29

The Hand  30

South on the Interstate  31

A Blessing  32

Allergic Reaction 33

Waking up Tired  34

Night Calls  35

Dark House  36

Pain    37

Fear and Love   38

Roots   39

part three

Lines of Demarcation  42

In Place of a Prayer  43

The Reprimand  44

Mother and Daughter  45

Killing Time  46

The Wait  47

Living Space  48

Letters to Jane  49

Trying to Stay Alive  52

On Going to See a Bereavement Counselor for the First Time

on an Afternoon in Mid-July  53

The Language of Holding Up  54

Trying to Make Peace  55

Pillows  56

November 23, 2009  57

Learning How  58

a note on the author   60