September Photo Prompt: Five Minutes

Five minutes.

To sit.

To be.

At home, it would be cold

congealing

in this morning’s mug

while I retrieve him

and his walker

from the armchair

only for him to repeat

and repeat

and repeat

while the TV plays the only programme he will watch

on loop.

The train goes up.

The train goes down.

My mind goes round.

Here, he is content,

watching the world go by

glaring at strangers

who don’t know their food must be shared,

eating his lunch

and sharing mine

before we head out to discover

the burial mounds

the house

the garden

the castle.

It doesn’t matter where we are,

we are not at home,

confined.

We can explore

and learn

and be,

turning our faces to the sun

allowing the years to bathe us

as we stand where they stood

when this was their place;

those people who came before us

who handed their toddlers to nannies

and I know,

no matter how much peace I crave

I would hate to lose my shadow,

for in doing so

I would lose a piece of my soul

So for now, I will take my five minutes

and my hot coffee

and wait for him to turn to me

and smile.