Silent,
Breathing the fetid air,
Skin the color of ivory
Left too long in the drawer,
...
I am the slit of light
That enters your room in the night
Nudging your dream with mine.
You sigh and turn your head away
...
If I have no daughter
Who will care
When the sprockets of my life
Come undone
...
The Nursing Home
Silent,
Breathing the fetid air,
Skin the color of ivory
Left too long in the drawer,
Their life-leached bodies
Line the hall
As they wait
For the dining-room doors
To open.
Are you looking for someone?
For me, I said.
Not yet. You are not here.