You loved your daily bout
of pranayama exercises,

your oum filled the house
with its peaceable thundery bass.

Nowadays I do my practice
in a roomful of friendly strangers,

we inhale through the nostril of the sun,
exhale via the nostril of the moon.

Seven years later, in our quiet house,
I sometimes hear

the measured hum of your living breath,
sidestepping the deathbed.

Say my name. Say my name. Say my name.