Where did you go?
my father asked
from the bed I sat beside
when I told him I was back.
I told him I went home
to fetch the family
—my wife & daughters—
& now we're here, & then
he said okay, & that
put matters to rest.
He closed his eyes to rest
& it seemed safe
to leave again. To leave
seemed safe till we could
return, except by then
there was no one to
return to. We turned to
words in a language
completely different
from what we knew
when they lowered
his box into the ground.
Copyright © 2019 by Roger W. Hecht.
