I can tell...

...he's been drinking.
It's a monthly event these days,
the drunken phonecall.
Every word, every syllable is
careful...emphatic.
It's a message on my answering machine
at work.
Your young (pause) son (pause)
his birthday (pause)
yes?

It makes me smile.
Quod me nutrit
me destruit.
What nourishes me
also destroys me.

I guess the same
could be said for him.