I Guess No One Has a Phone in Heaven

But what if they did . . . if my sweet daddy
could call long distance – really, really long distance –
we would talk for a long time.

I have so much to tell him.
I’d start with his three grandchildren,
one granddaughter, two grandsons – all with their parents’
broad shoulders and brown eyes,
poets, songwriters,
all ornery sweet.

I’d ask so many questions.
Tell me again about your mother Lily.
Was she Mohawk or Shawnee?
Tell me about the dog that saved your life;
I still can’t remember his name.
Tell me about picking tobacco for fifty cents a day.
Tell me about your favorite horse – that Tennessee Walker
whose long strides lifted you toward the sky.

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Colette Tennant

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Colette Tennant has two books of poetry, Commotion of Wings and Eden and After. Her most recent book, Religion in The Handmaid's Tale: a Brief Guide, was published in 2019 to coincide with Atwood's publication of The Testaments. Her poems have been published in various journals, including Prairie Schooner, Rattle, and Poetry Ireland Review.

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