To my neighbor who is probably dying

Bill next door
told me that the man I see walking
is walking toward death’s door.
Cancer.
of the esophagus.
He no longer speaks or eats,
but he speaks with his eyes,
and eats up the things he sees
as he walks through the neighborhood, memorizing
his life here. Dreaming of his next one.
The man who is walking and dying
has grown thin this year.
But see how straight he stands,
and how bright
shine his eyes
even through the misty rain this evening.
It’s like the hollows around his eyes are the receding night
and the light in his eyes are the sun rising.
He knows things I want to know.
What it feels like to be letting go
of one’s body,
and taking hold of God’s hand.
He smiles more now than
he did before he grew ill.
What kind of magic does that?
He knows things I want to know.