Two Poems

Silent Echoes

My father lost his hearing
          soon after he retired
          or rather he gave it up.

At first his hearing became
          selective as befits
          a man of a certain age

          but over time he lost all
          interest in listening and
          his ears forgot how to hear.

He wrapped himself in silence
          like an old comforter
          to protect himself from us

          and from our onslaught of words.
Sundays I'd sit with him
          and we'd feed the swans on the

          pond outside of the hospice.
From a distance I'm sure
          we looked like some old couple

          with nothing more to say and
          no desire to say it
          which was not far from the truth.

 

Casual Poetry

This will come to an end soon.
I know we've just begun but
I thought it best to be straight
with you. You seem like a

decent sort of reader and
I don't want to pretend that
this is ever going to
be more than what it is.

So it would be better all
round if we didn't get too
involved. You understand that
it's nothing personal.

It's only words and words don't
mean squat so don't read too much
into them. It's not like we're
engaged or anything.