I’d just got done taking down
the Christmas tree when my family
called to warn me that my grandfather
was breathing through a tube
so he wouldn’t be able to answer,
then they held the phone up to his ear
and I could hear his rasping
over the song of the heart monitor,
and I remembered that he’d stopped
recognizing me a few years ago
so I said, This is Mindy’s boy
then felt bad for mentioning
the winterborn daughter he’d buried
just to jog his memory, so I added
a bit about how he held me
steady as we circled and circled
the pasture on his great John Deere
loud as a falling tree, the tires
so big and frightfully close
though his hand gave me courage,
and for a few stony seconds,
he answered by breathing
in, then out, then in, then out.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 26, Issue 5.
Michael Meyerhofer is the author of five books of poetry, including What To Do If You’re Buried Alive (free from Doubleback Books). His work has appeared in The Sun, Missouri Review, Southern Review, Brevity, Rattle and other journals. He’s also the author of a fantasy series and Poetry Editor of Atticus Review. For more info and an embarrassing childhood photo, visit troublewithhammers.com.
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