The Man on a Mat

Home, the man laid on his mat.
The nurse sat in the corner.
He mumbled, stumbled.
At last he grumbled, Mom, please.

His mother leaned over him.
I can’t stay, she said.
She kissed him on his forehead.
She left.

He coughed.
His muscles seized, arms reaching.
A nurse held his hand.
He struggled, he ceased.

Portrait of a Dead Man by Giovanni Segantini

Tip Skyler Stevens