The Point of Interest

Hardly had he followed his father into the room when he started crying.
Certainly, the boy would be impressed by the emaciated man lying
On the bed, dimly lit, but scarce had he acclimatised when he emoted.
Soon as he had, his father showed embarrassment, and the dying man noted
That his friend's son was crying, and looked at this boy who did not know him fiercely.
No sooner does the writer reflect on his impressions as a boy than he
Rejects the point of interest, that first thought, left unmediated by his
Desire to be literary, and his recounting of the episode is
Certain that pity was the cause for the boy's tears; the writer persists, despite
Again sensing his father's embarrassment, pursues certainty in hindsight
Like the boy persevered with the sentiment, though he cried softly by degrees
Towards a terminus, which seemed, to him, natural; and so to appease
The dying man who has long looked hatefully at him, the writer regulates
The time flow between that boy entering and his beginning to cry, now waits
Until the parties are introduced before the tears, those awkward tears, are shed.
This substantiates pity, and makes it certain, too, that the man on the bed
Is offended by it, and yet the first thought proffered, for the writer to scan,
Necessitated neither pity nor a need to appease the dying man.