Dad standing by the plane in New Guinea
in his tunic
He smiles
waves
and the sun falls on him

Beside a girl sitting on a swing
leaning back with her legs straight out
The white skirt flutters

Behind the photographs
a glass of water

Dad is also beside the sickbed
white shirt with a black line across the stomach
My mom’s skin is greenish
It’s almost time
The nine hours are over
soon

A cross bursts from her head
He lifts the glass
sucking in water
Almost time

Her lover from high school
fell in a shower room many years ago
His heart was a lump of meat and
something went extinct within her
Almost time

a cross
fade away
slowly
Time
He rises
takes her hand
She too
fades away

Hidden behind the man and the girl
a young woman with her baby
pressed tightly against her chest
with a protective hand over his head