I can’t leave my house
or answer the phone.
I’m going down again
but feeling no pain.
Settling at last
accounts of the soul;
this for the trash,
that paid in full.
As for the fall, it
began long ago:
Can’t stop the rain,
Can’t stop the snow.
I sit in my chair.
I look at the street.
The neighbor returns
my smile of defeat.
I move with the leaves.
I shine with the chrome.
I’m almost alive
I’m almost at home.
No one to follow
and nothing to teach,
except that the goal
falls short of the reach.
~ from Book of Longing (McLelland & Stewart Ltd, 2006)
