April 9th

when my father dies
I hope he gets himself onto a steam train
the jiggering track, rickety ticking
buffalo blood windows

that old steel smell, paste and
the sky hurtling by, clouds like pie
crust

I hope he crumbles up into them
I hope maybe
he'll feel like an American

or find a country he likes better

I can see the pitchy tracks pushing into the ocean
and by sundown
he'll be eating tea and kidneys
on Bloomsday

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