they say the tilt of the world

is shifting in such a way

that by 2089 we may not…

……

I think about my parents

in their final years

what is it like to not think about such things

as the weather in a decade

or the condition of the rainforests

or the tilt of the earth toward the sun

what is it like to take off the burden of this world

living inside the last touch of one’s skin to the soil of a dewing morning pasture

eyes cast upon the lick of sunlight across the sunset sky

or the familiar intonation of one’s child’s voice full grown

but always gently nestled in arm