Always the Detail

Always the Detail represents the nuances of relationships. Barbara Schmitz writes about daily life, bringing to life such intricate encounters as animals and plants, mineral and liquids. Schmitz leaves no stone unturned. With beautiful imagery and astounding cadences, Schmitz comes to life in her poetry.

AFTER MY GRANDMOTHER’S FUNERAL

All the other mourners are off
to the funeral lunch of ham,
scalloped potatoes and church-lady cake.
Only me and my husband with my brother
in the still bare spring cemetery
sharing a joint in his white Corvette.

Out of the shadows the gaunt-cheeked
priest appears in his surplice and cassock
proceeding in slow procession to
my Grandma still perched there
above her wide-mouthed grave.
He pats her casket, recites his tender
farewell, ?Goodbye, Old Girl” and
drifts away like a last leaf left
after winter’s brutal sweep.

BARBARA SCHMITZ is a retired Professor Emeritus at Northeast Community College. Her writing is elegant and insightful. Over her prolific career, Schmitz has published five full-length manuscripts and won several awards, including the Individual Artist Award, Nebraska Arts Council, and the Nebraska Center Book Award for Poetry. She is part of the American Academy of Poets Author’s Guild. Schmitz currently resides in Norfolk, Nebraska.