Tethered

these remnants
tethered here
tied up in
spaghetti knots
lost in the back
of a closet
or dark corner
of any room
rolled under
the sofa
to collect lint
and dust

you're still
tethered here
not by
the phone
headset you
used at your job
or the MP3
you always
had in your
pants pocket
or the contact
lenses still
floating in
the saline

you're still
tethered here
by the saline
tears shed for
your passing

you're still
tethered here
by the laughter
shared when
reminiscing
about your smile
by the home
you had for
so many in
your enormous
heart

you're still
tethered here
though your
wings have
carried you away

CLOSED

a line jumps
in rhythmic
procession
as the machine
chirps in
the silent room
she lays
on life support
as her children
sit and wait
and watch
Nero play
chess with
Caligula
the beat
keeps beating
under looming
starvation
while the
OPEN sign
remains off

Inheritance

orange plastic cylinder
is fumbled with
by his fingers
her name is printed
on its label
as if it belonged
to her
but she rather
belonged to it
so he thinks
when he whispers
his mother's name
yes she was
generous and
a giving spirit
he mumbles
as the sounds
retreat into his
psyche and
"PSYCHO"
thunders through
his inner corridors
that's my inheritance
he says to himself
she passes away
and passes the baton
of insanity to me
not any other
not sister nor brother
sole heir when
it comes to that
to that end
when all who
are left wished
only to see
those good days
she had
those times when
the sun cracked
open the clouds
and her soul
shone with her smile
he recedes back
into the clouds
as his anger thunders
in the distance
her body is lowered
as tears fall from the sky
yet his cheeks are dry