“He was just coming
to spend the night,
to sleep in his old bed,”
his brother said,
afterward
when he arrived
at the hospital.
It was almost three
when the taxi hit him
crossing Park
to reach his mother’s house.

His father had died
months before
so maybe his mother,
feeling fragile.
had been seeking companionship
from her sons
or maybe William,
feeling fragile himself,
felt the need to return
to the bosom
where he could feel safe
behind walls
with family.

It wasn’t to be.
He’d crossed illegally
got hit speedily
by a rep from Cabs Kinky
and passed eventually
from complications.

His mother suffered
two horrible losses that year,
though a president’s daughter
and a paperman’s widow.
Her distinctions
failed to save her from tragedy.
She was fragile
like her son
and all of us.