Montgomery

Kelle Groom:

When I wrote this poem, “Montgomery,” we were only days into learning that my dad had pancreatic cancer and that our best hope was surgery. It was a time of overwhelming physical panic. The writing of the poem felt like a prayer. I was uninterested in narrative. I needed the repetition of the angel so that she would keep returning. I’ve long loved John Prine’s song, “Angel from Montgomery,” especially the version he sings with Bonnie Raitt, and the plea to “make me an angel.” The request could mean the creation of an angel or the transformation of the self into an angel. At the time of the poem, we were desperate and terrified, but hopeful. My dad died this week. His death is incomprehensible to me. In those three months, I wrote 25 pieces for him, most in the last few weeks of his life, mostly as a way to stay with him. But “Montgomery” is the first one. I appreciate the chance to be with him again here and to share this poem with you.