Listening for Laughter

A caregiver’s morning

I listen
for echoes of joy,
for laughter instead of tears,
I hear the sound of the oxygen.
I wonder if she still wears
the tubes in her nose.
Mom does not
think the oxygen
is necessary to help
her through the nights or days of her life.
Alzheimer’s disease prevents
her understanding
the reason.

Line count: 13
Form: A Fox Septet is a 13-line poem, without required rhyme. The syllable structure is 3/5/7/9/7/5/3/5/7/9/7/5/3.