dreaming

before he died
people whispered
and made note of the fact that
he was pale with a greyish pallor.
there was no
color in his face,
and he
gripped the rail, saying,
it's something I ate.
three days later he was dead.
days after his
new years eve party.
a week after his son was born.
a year after
his wedding and the purchase
of an enormous house
in the woods.
they found him at the bottom
of the stairs.
a cup of coffee spilled beside him.
he looked asleep
on the thick plush rug,
curled as if in a dream,
which it all may be anyway.