a prayer for the living

under the dull light of the window
cnn on the tube
he has his black coffee
wall street journal
a healthy helping of Ella Fitzgerald

i see my brother’s fear
chipping away at  his  youth
gray hairs now play at the temples
white stubble has invaded the chin
too tired for a dye job
vanity is long forgotten

words of bygone friends dangle from his lips
he speaks of death’s knotty fingers
choking life from his victims
making heads turn away in disgust
even curious eyes
avoid the mask of death

a reluctant Judas
he labors the thought that he kissed the mirror
when he failed to tell his friends goodbye

guilt was swallowing his soul
a mutating parasite distorting his perception

i blinded his fear with comforting words
adjusted the thermostat to warm the dingy eggshell space

Ella skips through ‘a tisket a tasket’

the lights are off now

death withdraws his frozen embrace

sleep rolls across the room
the sun yawns dimming her rays

I brush the crumbs from the table
remove the half eaten dinner

lifting his head

placing a pillow underneath his thinning head of hair
i blanket his cool arms
rest my hand under my chin
closing my eyes
I say a prayer for the living