In the memory care doctor’s office
the sun shines in hot and bright
We call it the Florida room,
says the nurse who asks my father
when and where he is
Later, the doctor closes part way
the window shades
also called blinds
words for those things that soften the light
as the aging doctor, tired and patient
tells his ever older patient
again and again
the same bad news
Oh gosh, a heart-breaker draped in golden gauze.