Rita at 60
Darby Riley
July 6, 2025
slim and civilized,
can make even cold lima beans
taste good:
likes to celebrate
decorate
dress up like a witch.
Good friend:
she’ll place her 7 foot
cardboard cutout of
Albert Einstein next
to your hospital bed
to scare the doctors
and nurses at 3 a.m.
Good neighbor:
she’ll call you
from the Farmer’s Market
to get what you need.
Good lady:
a Golden Rule
planet-saver
community builder
lover of art and culture
devoted to her husband
and to all dogs and cats.
Slim, civilized
in a bright colored outfit
with matching shoes.
Darby Riley is a lawyer and Sierra Club volunteer in San Antonio. He has hosted a monthly poetry writing workshop since 1992. His poems have been published in several anthologies, including Lone Star Poetry, and several local publications, including the San Antonio Express-News, La Voz de Esperanza, and Voices de la Luna.