this house is a maw now he sits in the jaw and waits for a voice, now missing from the kitchen while for anyone who'll listen the sounds left to fill the space ring clear: passed around the back garden like a wake buffet a brick wall tennis ball bounce A sunny ricochet a sound to keep grief at bay to keep away the day we set the table in silence we pass lemonade line up stone swans in reverence leave the gate unlatched walk away hope the bricks soak up the shadows she left behind use them to shade the next kids whose laughter hits those walls and bounces off