Erosion

His jacket hangs on shoulders
as if in a closet
on a wire hanger

his torso thinned
by age, chest
now a flat drawer,

stomach not a muscle
but the location
he cinches a belt.

The erosion of aging
has brought to sight again
his scrappy scapulae

that have been missing
since he turned twenty.
I like how they jut out.

to touch them when I hug,
feel the long history of his lifting
me, still, the nubs of angel wings.

Jeff Burt lives in Santa Cruz County, California, with his wife. He has contributed to Willows Wept Review, Heartwood, and Williwaw Journal.