The
hospital has become the nursery
where
she learns to care for this fragile man;
learns
to hold this over-tired woman
remembering
how she held her children.
The
tower of strength, yet the most in need,
her
father shrinks – no longer six foot three –
the
Viking king and lord of his manor,
has
grayed; there’s a slight stoop in his shoulders.
Mother,
matriarch of a brood, worries,
looks
lost, longing for his strength to return.
Her
concern centers on him – if she goes
will
he survive the absence of her love?
Shelving
frustration, a trick she learned once
long
ago, their daughter smiles away fear
reassures
them she’s here, always will be –
she
speaks to her parents as children now.
Siobhan