Rest’s Valentine

Someone’s dying across the way
A terrible coughing I hear
Most of the night and day
Set precipitously against
Birdsong and traffic drone
A slammed door and a child’s
Call to an imaginary friend
It all seems so random
Except for death
Pretending to be
The only real thing
In the world
But even in passing
The rest go on
The song and the drone go on