Dead Grandmas Are Universal 

“I joined the dead grandma club. 

Now that she’s gone, I feel closer to her. 

I’m torn between remembering her

for the woman she was 

and forgiving her 

for the empty shell she became.”

Candlelight Lover

“She was my candlelight lover 

but I never thought loving her 

would mold me into a woman of wax.”

To all the Antidepressants I’ve Ingested Before

“Wellbutrin 

I wish I could call you a fling. 

Truly, I wish I’d never swallowed. 

My mind had never been in such a state. 

Let’s leave our memories in the past 

and never speak of them again.”

These poems are excerpts from Marisa LaPorte’s recently published collection Dead Grandmas are Universal.