He thought he was all alone
sitting here sipping soup of stone,
the bitter, thin gruel
of children so cruel.
They have forgotten their old dad
he said,
and he sits there so sad,
but then he overheard parents bewail
children who don’t use snail mail
or telephones or e-mails or texting
leaving their parents perplexing
over the lack of communication
of things like grandchildren’s
vaccinations and vacations and education
“Oh, it is simple reality,” so says his wife,
“so get off your duff and discover life.
The children will promptly call on the phone,
the day they choose the nursing home.”
He remembers his mother saying many times a million,
“Just remember when you have children.”