Estrangement - Trudie Shannon

His father died.
Now,
He's inherited some of his father’s clothes,
Ties round his neck his father’s cravats,
Dons his father’s coat to keep out the winter chill.
And at night he foetus curls beneath his father’s blue blanket
And the soft eiderdown that once kept both of  his parents warm.
He doesn’t say anything.
His mouth remains closed and his pain
Makes the edges of his eyes ache.
When he looks into the mirror
He sees his father’s son.

Trudie Shannon