The President is
an asshole, his staff
clueless or evil, the Congress
is about the same, most
of my neighbors are either
complacent or cheering or
frightened of the sneering
cops —

all I’ve got
is this soft chair, these
major aches and profound
memory issues –can’t think
more than a few minutes
into the past or future —

don’t get old, kids,
don’t age or have strokes
or just find yourself waiting
to die — think of the years
you’ve got left and surprise
yourself that you might have
more like this full of fog —

except you may have
one memory like mine
to hold on to, one
remainder of a past.

I think of alpacas,
alpacas en masse
gently swarming me
and snuffling my open hand
for pellets of feed, their lips
working assiduously, their teeth
never touching me, then serenely
(as if nothing had happened)
moving away, the occasional
young one still following for
a few steps as I move away
as the bulk of the flock does;

does this feel like home to them
as it does not to me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
onward,
T