On the borrowed
coffee table,
four candles lit
against the dark
share space with
a pack of Camels,
a glass of bourbon.

A Bach sonata
fills the evening
with elegant
notes and silences.

An old man,
remembering
the absent,
sits alone
and smiles.

He is forgotten,
but he is free.

Call that a
New Year's Eve
party:

he does.
  - mce