Old man’s wife dies in Memphis.
He moves back to the bayou
sits in a fishing cabin
for a year collects crickets.
In a short while develops
ALS. Cold ice. No cure.
He gets scared, lonely,
watches TV with his dog,
medical appointments,
doctors every Monday
until he fires the whole bunch,
tells them to go to hell.
The hospital doesn’t like
being treated by a big mouth.
What does he do? Calls the Vets,
orders Meals on Wheels. It
becomes harder to move, speak,
fill out bills. A daughter calls,
hasn’t seen the old bastard
since she got off her braces,
now she wants to nurse her dad,
but she’s no Cordelia, no,
fills out the paperwork
to transfer his accounts
to hers, money to water,
liquid capital flowing
to pay debts. Makes plans to
stick Lear in a nursing home.
She packs, drives him out-of-state,
takes away his cigarettes.
- Review of my poetry collection “Two Places” by Nina Serrano of Estuary Press.
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