Hospice
When lit lanterns appear
In the windows of her eyes,
You know it won’t be long now.
And it’s like seeing a house
Glowing warm as bread
In the basket of a pine thicket
In a snowstorm and you
Are starving and shivering
And knock on the door
And a dead woman opens it,
A woman who has yet to
Figure out she’s dead,
And she welcomes you in
And offers you food
But doesn’t notice
The maggots and the mold,
And invites you to stay
The night in her arms but
You decide to take your chances
With the cold and leave,
Glancing back at the house
But it’s gone.