The Obit
After reading my obituary
folks went to their local bookstores
looking for my books. For a few days I was often quoted
like Baldwin and
people went looking for T-shirts with my image. My
books rested on the desks of teachers filled with
bookmarks, notes, and underlined words. Someone said
a critic once said Ethelbert’s poems failed because they
were filled with too much desire and despair. The world
doesn’t need another Neruda. Ethelbert in his last
interview said
“Love is a fragile thing and will always suffocate in
darkness.”
Notes:
This poem is part of the folio “E. Ethelbert Miller: Friendship Is What Keeps Us Whole.” Read the rest of the folio in the November 2025 issue of Poetry.
Source: Poetry (November 2025)