23. ama calls him

ama calls him
by all the names he has ever gone by
tao ge, mr. chan, han ting, alex, calixto 
in hopes his eyelids will flutter at one of them
sometimes, only "good morning" will do 
or a wave
the correct response to these pleasantries seem
unaffected by the rot 
encoded deeper than sense of self, language, or love
when the world begins to lose its 
grip on my wrists
will you knock on the glass, mouthing, miming,
wave wave good morning wave wave good morning 
ignoring the beeping, the maze of tubes ransacking my skin, 
will you call me by all my names
& wait for an answer?

the high line, nyc