the long hard day

my father
accidentally calls me at 8 am.
I figure it must
be important
so I call him back.
the electricians are coming
he says.
all the furniture is pulled
away from the walls.
it's like a hurricane
hit.
it's terrible.
he's ninety one.
if the soup goes cold
it's a nightmare he might
not recover from.
did you call me, I ask.
I was in the shower when
the phone rang,
no he says. I must have
hit the wrong button.
well.
okay.
good luck, I tell him with
the electricians and all.
thanks, he says, exhausted
and worried,
pacing,
it's going to be a long
hard day.