Quietly He Sleeps

The night settles in, clouds
pregnant with rain. Women
bustling about
hurrying to prepare
beef stew fills the hosue; Stargate
will be on soon. From
the Laz-e-Boy he
changes to the games-
seven to nothing,
Lakers in the lead. He
presses the button, screams
and cheers rise
to accomodate
his cancer-eaten ears. Machine
clicks to life, inserts
oxygen tube, supplies
his old lungs. He
pets the dog, licking
and sniffing, then
leans back to rest
his aching body.
'What do you want to drink?"
but he'd already fallen asleep.