Stop being so bald and wan

and crag-headed like the eagle with the promontory he fell from

Lift up your pillow-padded pate. Strip off the oxygen

Stand up from your hospital bed. Get out of that tan-tracksuit and green-gown ensemble

With all respect, Mr. Robards, Put some fucking clothes on

Go dancing. Come home safe from the war again

Re-marry Lauren Bacall. Reprise the role of a president

Survive the West, the Wilderness, Watergate, the Misbegotten, the Fall

Have six more children Have six children more

Stop dying, Mr. Robards, and looking so much like my father
 
 
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Laurie Posner recently returned to the San Francisco Bay Area from San Antonio, Texas. She works in the field of educational and environmental equity and inclusion. Posner holds a MPA from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College and is an alumna of National Urban Fellows, Community Education Leadership Program, and Leadership Texas. Her writings and podcasts about structural inequity have been published by the Intercultural Development Research Association and the Esperanza Center for Peace and Justice. She is a peer reviewer for the international Journal of Community Informatics, which examines access and innovation in community-based technology. Posner is the recipient of the Philip J. Rutledge Award and Genevieve Mott Literary Award. She volunteers with the Poetry Barn/Rooster Moans. Her poems can be found in Rockland Lit, Borders, the Squaw Valley Review, and Black Earth Institute, 30 Days Hath September.