how far away it was
Ray Heinrich
i’m standing over my father
in the hospital
he’s stopped breathing
i’m holding his neck
and shoulder
and i’ve been rubbing them
because he always liked that
and it’s the best i can do
while i’m waiting for him to die
waiting for his next breath
and it comes
and another
and then
i’m waiting for his next breath again
and i count
one thousand and one
one thousand and two
one thousand and three
like he taught me
standing in our garage
watching a thunderstorm
on the gulf coast of texas
sometime
when i was maybe six
he taught me to count
between the lightning flash and the thunder
taught me to figure out
how far away it was
