At Mother-in-Law's Townhome, New Mexico

A flame has been extinguished in her, not the fire of life but that spark wanting independence. She displays a certain resignation, one causing her face to droop as if melting. Her body sags in the chair. The dining table’s cluttered with magazines, keys, unopened credit card statements and utility bills, newspapers, and expired coupons from Whole Foods. She nods solemnly when I suggest she consider a live-in to help prepare meals and keep things tidy. “You could be like roommates,” I smile, “and, best of all, she could drive you everywhere.” “Driving Miss Lonely,” she smirks, getting up. She weaves her way through a gauntlet of boxes marked for recycling, crates of junk mail, and plastic bins filled with ornaments. She shuffles past the Christmas tree and falls into the loveseat beside the window. She studies the rabbits. They’re gnawing the carrots she stacked on the snow at dawn.









Kirby Wright was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a graduate of Punahou School in Honolulu and the University of California at San Diego. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. An award-winning poet, Wright is also the author of the companion novels PUNAHOU BLUES and MOLOKA’I NUI AHINA. He was a Visiting Fellow at the 2009 International Writers Conference in Hong Kong, where he represented the Pacific Rim region of Hawaii. He was the 2011 Artist in Residence at Milkwood International, Czech Republic.