I dreamed long and hard of an old friend

we are, all of us, afraid

of the end. when it's mentioned,

we tremble and twinge and look

side-to-side like liars in

coffins, ready to face any one
monster..........except

he is there, behind our faces,

melting skin off our bodies end to end,

one microscopic flash upon flash upon
flash, we know he is watching us undress,
close-mouthed and quiet and wide-
eyed, at least, we think, someone
.................is watching, at least, we think
we are not alone

we see his work accrue, but when
he's finally through, we cannot tell
we face him, without memories
but awash in recognition of a friend,
and he turns to us and says,
"Fare thee well, honey.
................Fare thee well."