At first it is difficult
to see you
are dropping dead –
you seem lost
in thought, adjusting your tie
as if to rehearse
some imaginary speech
though of course beginning
to fall,
your mouth opening wider
than I have ever seen
a mouth,
your hands deep
in your shirt,
going down
into the cheeses making the sound
that is not
my name,
that explains nothing
over and over,
going away
into your hands
into your face,
leaving this great body
on its knees,
the father
of my body
which holds me
in this world,
watching you go
on falling
through the Muzak,
making the sound
that is not my name,
that will never
explain anything, oh father,
stranger, all dressed up
and deserting me
for the last time.
-Wesley McNair