Pushcart 2026 L: Ted Kooser, “Whistling Past the Graveyard” (non-fiction) from New Letters #90.3-4

Ashvin Harrison: Tree of Optimism I live in the aftermath of cancer, the green reforestation period after the great fire, the brown high-water line drying to dust on the siding after the hundred-year flood, one lane now opened on the mountainside highway, a sheer drop to the sea on one side, cluttered by tons of broken concrete, a few chunks with sections of bright yellow centerline leading out into the blue. I’m not alone. My wife is at the wheel of our life together, wind in her full, lovely gray hair. I’m on the passenger side, giving myself my mid-day tube feeding, trying not to spill into my lap. I live on cartons of a prescription formula for diabetics, with ample washes of water. Medicare picks up the tab for my feedings. We’re on our way into the rest of our lives. Ted Kooser, former Poet Laureate of the United States, Pulitzer Prize winner, and teacher, is now 87 years old and has been dealing with oral cancers for over twenty-five years. He is indeed whistling past the…