pale green
pale grey
mushroom beige
one can wake to a drowse, just a tiny bit
of consciousness
and know you’re in hospital
He breathes in six to ten second gouts
and I watch
family & friends the doc the nurse the housekeeper
come and go
Sometimes we sound him
for how he’s doing
& sometimes he replies and squirms like a sleepy toddler
in a bed too small for him
he shrinks
and next to him
just there
on the other side of the window
another place for people to go to die
and get better
and fight death to a draw
is rising
under the watchful eyes of the crows
while his son speaks softly and rubs his back
the time that passes is modelling clay
the time that passes is silent pictures taken of a dying man
as he rests in the arms of his son
