reversal

the tables have turned

now it is my father
who sits staring intently
at the computer screen
in the living room
giving terse replies
when he replies at all

gruff and separate
disconnected

as we’ve been
for decades

both of us
playing a part
in the silence,
using screens
to divide
to escape

both of us
now used to how
we give and
receive
so little
attention

and perhaps
we’ve also learned
how not
to want it

(i am still
struggling
with that
lesson)