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Closing the House

By Miller Williams

From the Kenyon Review, New Series, Winter 1992, Vol. XIV, No.1

That’s never going to sit inside the box.
They took the picture to help them do her hair.
I guess we just throw out the underwear
but what are we going to do with all the books?
Praise Him, honey, she’s gone to where He’s at.
Love goes to love for all the love we miss.
Who can tell me what to do with this?
I think Aunt Agnes always wanted that.

Miller Williams was author, editor, or translator of twenty-eight books, including twelve volumes of poetry. He was widely recognized with national and international awards and with two honorary degrees and was inaugural poet for the second inauguration of President Clinton. Recent books of poetry include Living on the Surface: New and Selected Poems (LSU Press), Adjusting to the Light (University of Missouri Press), and Points of Departure and The Ways We Touch (both from University of Illinois Press).
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