Old Man

he is usually in his house
with a Christmas tree he never takes down
the tree has been there for three years
little kids run from the man who rarely leaves his house

once he lived with a woman
her name was Kathryn
he loved her

they were high school sweat hearts
childhood next door neighbors
best friends
they began dating in 8th grade
fell in love by 9th

he went off too war
she waited for 2 years
the longest of her life

he came back alive
married the next day

they had children
lived happily
grew old

she had cancer
they went to see the world
it was terminal
she died at home

on Christmas Eve
so he lives alone
with a tree for company

and a teenager
she comes over to cook
and to listen to an old man's
who lives in a house
that is no longer a home
without the woman he loved