assisted care

the assisted
care living facility
smells
of onions
and old people
asleep.
sound asleep in
the middle of the day
while the television
against the far
wall plays on
and on with live
energetic people.
people with plans,
and hopes.
desires.
and in between
the shows
are commercials
for the things
they all need.
there is no music.
no books.
no pets, no loved
one's hand in reach.
they are immersed
instead with
what doesn't exist,
as they near
that fate too.