robert demaree
IN THE
DINING ROOM
The dining
room at Golden Pines
Has been
spruced up
Since my
mother was in healthcare here.
They called
it something different then,
As if name
and color might reverse
That unspoken
ebbing,
Steady,
implacable.
We nibble
slowly at our quiche, my wife and I,
Figuring
there is lots of time.
This is
really not too bad, is it?
Only one
other table is occupied this night.
A man in a
baseball cap talks to his mother,
About
something she may not understand.
He wheels her
past our table,
Her wrinkled
smile kind, vacant,
Her pink
velour sweat suit the high fashion
Of this time
of life.
I want to
grab him by the sleeve:
Do you get
here every day?
Be sure
you get here every day.
Robert Demaree is the author of four collections of poems, including Fathers and
Teachers (2007) and Mileposts (2009), both published by Beech River Books. The
winner of the 2007 Conway, N.H., Library Poetry Award, he is a retired school
administrator with ties to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. He
has had over 500 poems published or accepted by 100 periodicals, including
Louisville Review, Louisiana Review, Miller’s Pond, the Aurorean and Drown in My
Own Fears. For further information see
http://www.demareepoetry.blogspot.com