A 3.5-hour plane ride to
New York
arriving at
4 o’clock eastern time.
A 2-hour drive
down the Jersey parkway to spend
1 Christmas dinner and
120 hours
in the same house as my grandmother.

She works on a
500-piece puzzle
in the dining-room
while I drink
4 beers
in the living-room.

I read
7 short stories
and she completes
13 word searches.

Try to break up the experience with a
4-hour
road trip down the coast
to Atlantic City.
30 minutes
sitting next to her at a slot machine.
A 3-course meal
at an Italian restaurant on the boardwalk.

I write
3 complete poems
and she makes
5 phone calls to family.

1 Nor’easter
keeps us up for
2 nights.

120 hours.
5 days
in the same small house
as my grandmother,
and maybe,
17 kind words spoken,
and only
because
we have to.