Mark Forrester
Moving Shadows
I joke to my mother that she will have to say goodbye to all the ghosts before she leaves.
She nods. “Sometimes I think I still see your father,” she says. “Especially around our anniversary, for some reason.”
We both smile slightly, both look away. Occasions like anniversaries never meant a great deal to either of them.
“When we moved into this apartment, he swore it would be for no more than one year.”
Forty-seven years later, we finish packing the last of her belongings in a rented truck.
stunted pine
moss growing over
last year’s moss
About the Author
Mark Forrester has taught English for more than 30 years at the University of Maryland, where his awards include recognition for his social justice and antiracist teaching. His chapbooks The World Disappears (2021) and Dreamer’s Moon (2024) were published by Buddha Baby Press. He is a high school dropout, a former chef, and a husband, father, and grandfather.