deep lines
and dark spots
decorate his shaky hands
a pacemaker
pumps his heart

Sunday mornings
he passes the
gold collection plate
it shakes
in his grip
dollars, coins, and checks
dance

McDonald’s
he sits with his
styrofoam coffee cup
he raises it to his lip
trembling

every passing year
his shaking worsens
and I fear
soon

his coffee

will spill

—
Cheyenne Bilderback is a 20-year-old native of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. She currently calls Nashville, Tennessee home while she studies at Belmont University. Her work is forthcoming in the Midwestern-based literary journal Twig. When she is not posting poetry to her blog, vinyl muse, she is often found writing songs or serving coffee.