Sometimes Abisha will remind me that she misses
our old cheese master, Becky.

And the lights above us blink an answer.

She and another manager
no longer alive have shadow boxes in our cheese shop:
Pictures, jackets, momentos of connection.

I believe we’ve learned the proper offerings:
for Becky, herb d’affinois. Maybe a baguette
and some roasted red tomato.

For Brett, who sang praise of the muffaletta
and talked about horseradish-
Why not horseradish cheddar and muffaletta?
I can’t recall if he liked bread cheese, too,
but he’s the type who loved to man a grill.

Of Jesse, we remember what he did not want
by way of cheese offerings:
he didn’t like the cambozola blue. No,
he wouldn’t have blue at all but he
had a passion for songs, classic rock,
and dogs, especially Pizza and Garnet.

To honor means sometimes
to honor what is unwanted:

Jesse wouldn’t want
for us to fear our own ghosts.