Aorta Revisited 


The moment the helicopter crashed

in the field behind my house,


my heart skipped a beat and I couldn’t help

but think of my grandfather whose aorta


busted at eighty-three

while on his morning stroll


around our rather small block,

me back then, barely thirty and nearly


a grandparent myself. No one

was hurt, but its wings got


smashed up, and Grandpa died

before he hit the pavement.


Even this many years later,

I still wonder what his face


looked like in the pine coffin

mother picked because she was cheap


and no one else was home

plus everyone had second thoughts.



Diana Raab, MFA, PhD, is a memoirist, poet, blogger, speaker, and award-winning author of nine books. Her poetry and non-fiction has been published and anthologized in over 1000 publications. She frequently speaks and teaches on writing for healing and transformation. Her latest poetry book is Lust.

Raab blogs for Psychology Today, Thrive Global and Wisdom Daily. She’s editor of two anthologies: Writers and Their Notebooks and Writers on the Edge; two memoirs: Regina’s Closet and Healing with Words,and four poetry collections, including Lust.Her latest books are Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Program for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life and Writing for Bliss: A Companion Journal.Visit: dianaraab.com.