she doesn't want answers for
are you still writing
what are they doing
when did that happen
I finally learned, having spent
a lifetime listening to them
a lifetime listening to them
it's not recent behavior
Her questions a prompt
for me to ask about her
Her short, sad answers
laden with the pull of
a boat, untethered
rope wrapped
around my ankles,
pulling me from shore
I've learned to stand
higher up the shore,
away from the
last tide's debris
strewn in the
damp sand
between us
