Unforgettable
—in memoriam Emily Desire Gaynor Rothman, 1964-2020
Let me forget all that reminds me of
You: the shoes, heels worn down the way your gait
Would wear them, the photos, rings pledged with love,
The documents from your dissolved estate,
Our wedding china, sons, notes to yourself,
The boxes, stones and shells that you collected,
The old ski gear, the stylish belts, the shelf
Of jewelry that you carefully selected
With instructions to give it to friends.
And let me soon forget the sound of your
Low voice when you said After my life ends,
I hope you wait a while, but then live your
Life. Find another woman. Live your life.
If I forget all that, will you return, my wife?
— When young, David J. Rothman had the good fortune to study with Czeslaw Milosz, Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney, Mark Strand and Robert Fitzgerald. His most recent books are a textbook, Learning the Secrets of English Verse (Springer 2022), co-authored with Susan Spear, and My Brother’s Keeper (Lithic 2019). “Unforgettable” is one of two poems by David J. Rohman in the current issue of The Hudson Review.
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Author: The Best American Poetry
