In the corner
Unseen observer appreciates his company
With a kiss on the check
They float away
Sit at the table to talk
For him to watch
Oh, how she’s grown

They talk with his wife
About life back at home
She makes them the foods of her daughter’s childhood
He eats them slowly in the corner
Studying the way she holds the fork
Studying the way she throws her head back when she laughs

How are you doing, Dad? She asks
Controlling sympathy so it doesn’t pour out in tears
He answers with a nod and through glassed over eyes
Watches her quickly join back into conversation
The discussions that he hasn’t partaken in for years
And his grandchildren stare at the way he shakes and stutters
They’ll never understand that thought occurs behind those eyes
Wishing they had known him when he was young

He had never been the talkative type
But now endless silence lengthened the hours
What to live for now?
Worn with age
Worn with sickness
Worn with immortality
Only visits to observe
It occurred to him that living
Was in the past
Now he lived vicariously through his company
Observing life from his spot
In the corner