For Brian
You are fading now, dear friend,
No longer able to do the simplest tasks.
Not so long ago you were grateful to have had
A life as extraordinary as yours has been.
I fear now the pain and lack of control
That keep you confined to your chair
Override your previous assessment.
Your mind refuses to hold words to let you
Digest their meaning, so you cannot read.
Understanding what you want to say has
Been difficult, and now, even speaking
May be beyond what you can manage.
So, we will sit together and watch the birds,
Letting the breeze do our talking,
Loving the movement of trees in the
Forest beyond and the promise of nourishment in
The garden below, watching how the sky above is
Suffused with clouds that let intermittent rays of
Light dapple the old wooden porch that has served
You for so long, remembering, each in our own way,
How once you built these walls and roof and floors,
Walked these hills for hours on end with your thoughts
Churning into phrases that joined and mingled into poems.