What Was Found, by Barbara Raimondo

The police divers brought up the ATV.
Later our father restored it to its original condition.
The divers kept finding Jack’s things under the water.
They brought up his smile with its oversized tooth.
The way he played princess with Amanda.
His track team from the seventh grade.
The red Mustang he was going to buy.

They kept going down and coming back up.
They found the biggest fish he ever caught.
The family vacation at the ranch in 1998.
The first time he held me.
The watermelon plant he grew from a seed.

They brought up the notes he used to leave to mom.
“Out stopping traffic.”
“Sorry about the mess.”
“Thanks for dinner.”

They put out the twenty-five candles that had been lit, they
Pulled down the 100 balloons with notes attached.
They closed the bible with the stories about Jesus.
They sent the people home, even if they had been waiting all day to
Say something.

Barbara Raimondo lives in Washington Grove, Maryland, where she is a member of the Washington Grove Poetry Workshop. She and her husband have two young adult children. The family is bilingual in English and American Sign Language. Barb likes to try new things and recently completed a half Ironman triathlon.