the conversation

the conversation
over coffee
leads to
aches and pains,
hay fever
remedies,
stiff joints
and bones.
you speak of
someone
you knew, younger
in fact,
who woke up
with a bruise
on their arm
and was dead in
a month.
you both shake your
heads, sip
your drink
and say you never
know, do you?
it's less about
the news now,
less about the world
outside your
worlds.
you've both
narrowed it
down to a tidy
circle of land.
the kids, and gardens,
pets,
and yes, Tylenol
pm.