A Dream of Death

He was like an old gentleman

who drifts

in his own company

further and further

from the company of companions,

further and further,

whose idioms are more and more

his own.

Memorial

His neighbors' windows
overlooked his yard.

He was an interloper
in his own garden.

He disliked going out.
(He had nobody,

nobody
to second his innocence.)

Bio: Eric Burke works as a computer programmer in Columbus, Ohio.  Recent work can be found in elimae, Pank, Right Hand Pointing, decomP, and Otoliths.  Work is forthcoming in A cappella Zoo and qarrtsiluni.  You can read his blog at http://anomalocrinus.blogspot.com/