In memory of Judy Leach
Bendigo, Australia, 2020
I sit here
in the backseat
of my father’s car
one Thursday afternoon.
My father is the one driving
& my baby sister is beside him.
We are here together in the car
for the first time
in so long,
drawing ever closer
to my baby sister’s new home.
As suburban houses blur by,
our streaming thoughts of you
effervesce into an overdue
heart-to-heart.
We state
the sweet simple things
you yearned to do
on your ICU deathbed:
to return home
& continue cooking meals
for your husband & children;
to go out
in your new second-hand car
& buy bargain-priced antiques
at op shops.
As we speak about you,
your song comes on
the car radio: Over the Rainbow
by your namesake.
Judy’s angelic vocals
coupled with the soaring
instrumental arrangement
strike major chords
& render us three
speechless.
I recall how you adored
this sweet simple song
we haven’t heard
in so long,
how the funeral
director mistakenly played
that cover version you disliked
at your burial.
I peer into the rear-view
mirror at my sister’s baby face.
The tears brimming in familiar eyes
reflect mine
as we draw ever closer
to my baby sister’s new home.
Here I am —
a backseat statistician —
wholeheartedly believing
in the beautiful spirituality
of synchronicity.
Stereo Story #540
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