first day of school
her brother's backpack
with legs

solitaire
my widowed father
lost in the shuffle

my father
losing his memory––asks me
not to forget him

childhood scrapbook
the life expectancy
of Scotch tape

funeral––
my grandchild tells me
I'm next

unspoken question
an old man’s 
back

hole in my hourglass i slip in a little more sand

forty-fifth reunion...
seniors
again

from a certain angle
my shadow casts
a full head of hair

62 candles––
such beautiful memories
of things I regret

wearing the new glasses
I don't seem to hear properly
either

polka dots
farther apart
at the hips

I wipe the mirror
the face looks
even older

after 40 years...
still the dreams of
being late

old pond
another floater
in my right eye

more and more
less and less
hair

shrinking
now my son
measures me

when did it start
to be about loss
Christmas lights

dementia unit
the old therapy dog
remembers everyone

all the things
I said I’d do...
winter sunset

spring cleaning
nowhere to put
the kids' childhood

class reunion
the list
a bit shorter

train whistle
the retired conductor
checks his watch

Alzheimer’s ward
the faded blue number 
on a resident’s arm

estate sale
a jar of baby teeth
for 25¢

    all the candles
        with one breath
the flame in her eyes

forty-six years
writing my name
yellow in snow

     palmist
reading the lines
   in her face

summer heat
I take away
dad's car keys

visiting mother––
again she finds
my first grey hair