by Ronald J. Pelias

We have reached that age when our heads
nod off watching TV, even with programs
we want to see, she on the couch, wrapped
in a blanket, me in my soft chair almost
big enough for two, our faces falling back,
her mouth closed, mine, a cave inviting
the moon, as our eyes shut and we forget
the unfolding drama at the day’s end.
“Honey, did you want to watch this?”
we say sometimes, startling each other
awake before we slip away again, lost
until we stir enough to carry ourselves
to bed where hours drop off like leaves
and dreams finish what we never did.

Ronald J. Pelias’ work has appeared in a number of journals, including the Midwest Poetry Review, Coal City Review, Poetry East, and Negative Capability. His most recent books, If the Truth Be Told (Sense/Brill Publications), The Creative Qualitative Researcher (Routledge), and Lessons on Aging and Dying (Routledge) call upon the poetic as a research strategy.