A man laughs and jokes while soberly
picking his way through the plate set before him.
Frolicked youth clings to warm eyes
as concerns of today’s tomorrow flavor all
that he takes and all that he offers.
Such is the dinner. Pass please and passed.
By coffee he becomes the bent grandfather
honored at table’s end, folded into a large chair,
focusing on a trembling cup and trying to catch
a familiar word in the buzz of his family.
June 2008
WandeRoseD 