Drawbacks

Watching the
Photographs
Play on his
Daughter’s Mac
There he is
Here he’s not
Black and white
Camera shots
Scanned archives
Man’s past lives
His heart tied
Heavy knot
Tears in his
Crinkled eyes
Catch him by
Her surprise
Her hard work
Unearthed dirt
Dust to dust,
Tides to rise.
Clock-hands push
Underfoot
Time’s tired
Lull-a-bye.

Maxiford

Soft,
skimming the sagged
Skin,
spotted and cragged.
Stooped,
spinal stack bent
Bones,
bitter descent.
Max,
old only in age
Bows.

(Slow Turn)

Dusty boards,
Empty stage.

Traveling Time Step

Remembering trains
and Daddy—
loud
chords
that woke him
up
at night.

Remembering smoke
From Momma—
rouge
mouth
her puck-ered
oh-
ver bite.

Remembering veils
His sisters—
chair
lift
that glass smash
cracked
the night.

Remembering hands
her soft palms—
cold
folds
corpse blue,
his chest
tight.

Remembering gray
the mirror—
that
day
reflecting
time’s
face.