the old man was in a box

even when he bothered to come home

he was still in a box

inattentive, distant, lost in his other lives

which we knew little about

but were always there with him

inside his box

the old man was in a box

or, precisely what was left of him

after the incinerator and the drunks’ memorial

i eventually took him

in his box

and poured him into Bean Creek

which took him to the Rio Grande

and on to the Gulf

where it all began

2/18 LV
Copyright Michael Douglas Scott