I want to write to you
and implore you to fight
like Dylan Thomas to his father
though I’ve long hated the idea of that poem
and said as much, that I’d never
write such a thing, never burden
someone with the need to stay alive
just to make it easier on the rest of us
who love you with cowardice.

So while I’m aware that you’re waking early,
consulting the mirror and asking big questions
and thinking of how futile it all seems,
know that we’re selfish,

but don’t think we want anything more
than you at the table this year
serving whatever you found in a magazine
that looked appealing on paper
and, in practice, is perhaps imperfect
but will definitely suffice.

Musical composition by Jeff's Solo Band (Facebook)

Vincent Francone is a writer from Chicago whose memoir, Like a Dog, was published in the fall of 2015. He won first place in the 2009 Illinois Emerging Writers Competition (Gwendolyn Brooks Award) and is at work on a collection of poems. Visit his web site to read his work or say hi.