he is the child now

as he lies

in bed,

i read to him as he once

read to me.

Mark Twain

and Poe,

David Copperfield.

Jules Verne's

Twenty Thousand Leagues

under the Sea.

there's a pillow

behind his

head

as he sits up and listens,

drinking

his Earl Grey tea.

the window is open,

blowing

ghost like the sheers.

his good

ear

leans towards me.

he is the child now.

not me.