“Is your dad still teaching?”

She asks

Not knowing

And I wonder

Where have you been for seven months?

But how lovely

That you got to live

In a luxury of a world

Where my father was still standing

Her question lingers in the middle of the potato chip aisle

I finally reply

“My dad passed away in November”

An answer I now feel

Gives the wrong impression

Because I think

He is teaching me

Just as much as ever.

Marie Lance is a 2017 graduate of Denison University where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, learned she didn’t want to do research, and discovered a love for Shakespeare. Marie is a self-described “concrete thinker” and “recovering poetry hater.” She found her way to writing as a way to express her grief after her Dad died in November of 2016. Her home is in Delaware, Ohio where she is a part time student, part time lab instructor, part time barista, and full time giraffe enthusiast. She hopes to someday be a corgi mom and small business owner. You can find her on the internet on Twitter @LadyMarieWrites on Instagram @lady.marie.writes and on her website www.bettergrievingthroughchemistry.weebly.com