wee wee wee all the way home

when I went to ask him
who loved you as a child
his back was already to me

heart black
genetics pressed in on him
a blanket of coal
to warm him frigid

"momma did"
mementos arrive quickly
flicker older brain cells
that rush together with
pictures of stained glass hugs

he is agile yet aged
pretends the neglect
is tolerable and normal
for the times

when he thinks of love
it is empty as empty
as the old trinket box
he keeps on his shelf