Attached are my reasons for quitting the nursing home; It is all too much, Mum. 
 
 
A lady slants to the left  
A lady bruised up to her hair 
You can’t tell if the gray is from her scalp or from her skin 
 
She’s fading away 
 
Rigor mortis is when the stiffness takes the entire body till death 
 
Can you believe she stopped moving  
Can you believe she stopped putting aside her hair strands and coiling them to her ears 
 
Can you believe she no longer eats the same fruits I would open for her? 
The fruits that bear seeds, 
 the fruits that have families,  
              extend themselves to different paths 
 
Do you think if we met earlier 
 If you didn’t bloom near the end of the branch  
If you stayed near the stump  
Do you think we could’ve shared a sweet vein? 
 
The sweet veins of an orange I would peel,  
You picked them  
like you were sewing on the plate your art- 
 and the fruit was paint  
with grapes, strawberries, peaches, mandarin oranges, kiwis  
 
If we shared fruit, would you be more willing to finish your plate 
Could you pick up the fork and try to taste the sweet veins 
 
It’s paid for 
 I promise you it’s paid for  
You can eat the fruit on the plate, 
 No, you don’t have to save it anymore

                                                                                                    There is more to spare 

There is enough for me 
And there is enough for you 
And there is enough for tomorrow  
 

 

A lady plays the piano softly, 
 It won’t play at her will  
She traces the notes she remembers the sound like 
 
A lady colors in boxes 
And picks a purple pencil to color the bow of a puppy 
A lady kisses another lady's hand as a wave goodbye  
A lady hugs a lady and cries 
 
A lady asks for coffee she never drinks 
A lady who is always cold  
 
A man who is always swollen  
A man who had a laugh  
A man who only sighs  
A man who doesn’t look up 
A man waiting to die  
 
A haunted man with shadows behind him 
A man with a brave past and salty teeth 
Salty meals,  
              salty beverages,  
                                          snare teeth dentures, replicas of knives he yielded 
 
The salty sea he drifted in and pushed against the water to lift his comrades  
Salty past,  
              salty salad,  
                            salty burritos filled with chunky salsa and salty tears  
 
Sleeping,  
              sleeping at last