I woke this morning listening
my mother in her room
shuffling out of bed
the clank of her walker as it strikes the floor
one           uneven
          beat
                         at a time
A week out of the hospital
A week since her heart clinched
a cough that  rattled the house
and breathing was like drowning
A week since Loss, that bastard squatter,
crept into my breast early
and waits