December 2022 – Aremyfeetofftheground

Going away

She is disappearing,
your Mom,
said the Dad to his son.

And all of your anger with her-
arisen out of fear, sadness, and helplessness,
is not wrong, though it hurts.

She is consumed with another realm,
and you speak only to a placeholder
who grows more listless with time.

Apart

Night splints hold teeth in position,
I believe.

There is a baseless fear of dismemberment,
of awakening without the sum of one’s parts,
like the cave of a missing tooth.

I lie in bed running, and too fast.

Of what do predators dream?