THIRST

THIRST

It would be his last day,
and talking
had yielded already
to nods and gestures.

Simple requests
confused him,
even single words
were opaque.

The failure
of understanding
was dissolving
the room where he lay.

As dusk softened its edges,
whispered kindness
gave comfort,
revealed thirst to be

his ruling condition.
He drank deep
from the cup held for him,
felt brief and intense zest

return. The wave ebbed
and with it the thanks
that gave meaning beyond
his own body.