photo by Emily Ferrara
Quarantine at age 67
by Richard Fox
We hug good morning, good night.
Cuddle a few times a week
(the grace of your weight).
My couch, your chair.
Eggshell walls, bone ceilings.
Oak floors, our age.
You pick through books.
Flawed plots and anachronisms,
annoy you.
I magnify the tablet’s screen.
Faces fray, words blur, lines jump.
My two-finger typing, a chaos of goofs.
We confuse the day of the week.
Mark evening by lights turned on.
Monday’s chemo, our rousing excursion.
Silent hours, minutes collected
during absorption and naps.
Numb from serenity. life’s a lullaby.
​
Lustful,
we arrange pillows
to cushion our scars.
But your colon spasms or
fatigue leaves me worthless.
We agree. Tomorrow will be better.
When not writing about rock ’n roll or youthful transgressions, Richard Fox focuses on cancer from the patient’s point of view drawing on hope, humor, and unforeseen gifts. He is the author of five poetry collections and the winner of the 2017 Frank O’Hara Prize. smallpoetatlarge.com