Hospital visiting-hours:
“Hello John, heard you were
having a spot of bother.”
Old men, knowing how to talk,
in the dusk return:
in youth they moved the bodies
of friends into the sun.
Their tender violent brotherhood
was all, gave all -
packed like jewels -
I envy them their friends,
their stories, their loves,
their war.
Acknowledgments
JSH confirms there is no conflict of interest, and that he is sole author and guarantor. No funding body was involved.