A Glass of Water
Please come in
she said to the stranger
She did things like that
much to the consternation of
her children
Inviting in strangers
if they looked hot or thirsty
She said it had to do
with the corporal works of mercy
But her kids just told her
how dangerous it was
and worried about
putting her in a nursing home
She seemed to forget
so many words now
hanging in mid sentence
plucking at the air with fingertips
as if to find the lost word
Remote control
she would finally spit out
Everyone else worried about this
but she knew it had been
gradually gathering steam
for twenty years
and she wasn’t worried
She said as much
in the same breath as
If I can’t give a glass of water
to a thirsty man then maybe
I don’t want to be a part of this world
anymore
And then the kids worried more