blue-tinged hair :: the somewhat fallen

but still aristocratic profile of a true Boston Brahmin blueblood ::

sky-blue eye shadow her granddaughter gave her

in 1973 :: a trace of blue around her lips on winter days

when she can’t afford to turn the heat any higher :: the taste

of blueberries and sour cream :: a small bluebird of happiness pin

that’s been fixed to her sweater since that day in late 1954

when she was truly happy :: his favorite blues recording,

scratchy and swift on the record player :: the reticulated blue

of ragged veins popping like cannulae beneath her support hose ::

one secret toenail painted the exact blue of his eyes :: a whiff

of formaldehyde, so dark the blue is almost black, that clings to her dress

for days after the service at the funeral home.