Take Care

Take Care

Cubby hole, rolled bacca

Back straight, short temper

Walk the halls, locking up

Not mocking hearts

Nor narrow minds

Surviving stoically

Feel embarrassed?

Inner life, banished

Dogged by inertia

Inherent conservatism

Hatred of difference

Fear of the other

Hold it together

While dying inside

Losing the paragon

The best in life

Absorbed by death

Strangled from inside

Under the strip light

Haunted by ghosts

Sing-song ridicule

Snow smashed into windows

Cruel commentary

Elvis has left the building

Waiting for darkness

Desired reunion

Rising from inside

Lingered for long

Children departed

Left all alone

Lay on the gurney

Mind nearly spent

Flash of annoyance

He thinks he’s the kiddie

Surrounded by daughters

Time’s almost up

Quietly going

The final embracing

Last will and testament

A packed congregation

A last ululation

Marking what’s past