waiting for what's next

they put his body on ice
until
the family figures out what to do
with him.

it was always like that.
what to do with him.

how much, they say. gathering
around the table

smoking, uneasy in their chairs.
where to bury him.

the coffin, the headstone.
an obituary?
what would it say.

so he stays on ice. his own money
counted and
already spent.

his stash taken, the pockets
emptied.

his days were long and hard.
he felt the cold
as he waited
on the fountain steps.

crumpled in used clothes.
and now this.
waiting again, for what's next.