GO TO SLEEP
Her husband offers
her favorite,
a soft boiled egg,
but she pushes
the spoon away,
chokes
on a sip of coffee.
I can’t imagine
how it is to watch
your wife die.
I’ve been here three
times before; to teach
her to get out of bed, to make
her muscles stronger.
What do you want?
She’s 93.
I can’t work miracles.
I watch him move
her from the bed
to the wheelchair.
I have no more
to show him.
He talks about
feeding tubes
or letting nature
take its course.
He still doesn’t
know what to do.
On good days,
she spends afternoons
on the deck, pushes
herself around
